Celebration amid a crisis

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday likened the recapture of the southern city of Kherson to the Allied landings in France on D-Day in World War II, saying both were watersheds on the road to eventual victory. And celebrations in Kherson occur against a backdrop of humanitarian crisis.

👋 Hi, I'm Nicole Fallert with an update on Ukraine.

Speaking via video link to a Group of 20 summit in Indonesia, Zelenskyy said Kherson's liberation from eight months of Russian occupation was “reminiscent of many battles in the past, which became turning points in the wars."

The retaking of Kherson was one of Ukraine’s biggest successes in the nearly 9-month-old Russian invasion and dealt another stinging blow to the Kremlin. But large parts of eastern and southern Ukraine remain under Russian control, and fighting continues.

The liberation of Kherson sparked days of celebration in Ukraine and allowed families to be reunited for the first time in months. But as winter approaches, the city's remaining 80,000 residents are without heat, water or electricity and short on food and medicine.

Meanwhile, European Council president Charles Michel urged global powers Tuesday to intensify pressure on Russia over its war against Ukraine, including Moscow's biggest supporter, China. Michel said this week's G20 meeting of the world's largest economies was crucial to stopping Moscow's push "to use food and energy as weapons.”

👉 More from Ukraine:

• The U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution Monday calling for Russia to be held accountable for violating international law by invading Ukraine, including by paying reparations. It recommends the assembly’s members work with Ukraine to create “an international register” to document claims and information on damage, loss or injury to Ukrainians.
• Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba sought to temper the excitement over Kherson. “We are winning battles on the ground, but the war continues,” he said.
• The Kremlin may have given up control of the crucial port city of Kherson, but the battle for the industrial Donbas region of eastern Ukraine remains unrelenting and brutal.