Russia says it has fully withdrawn from Kherson, in a major blow to Putin

Russia says it has completed the withdrawal of its forces from the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, just days after Russia's Defense Minister announced a troop pullback.

In a statement posted online, Russia's Defense Ministry said that remaining troops have been transferred out of Kherson to the east bank of the Dnipro River early Friday with "not a single piece of military equipment or weapons" left on the other side.

Ukrainian officials have yet to confirm the withdrawal of Russian forces from the crucially strategic city is complete, nor the...