US estimates 200,000 dead on Russian and Ukrainian sides, Moscow announces withdrawal from Kherson

The most senior general in the U.S. predicts about 100,000 Russian troops and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died or been injured in the war in Ukraine.

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Combined Chiefs of Staff, said about 40,000 civilians had died from being entangled in the dispute.

That estimate is the highest estimate ascertained by a top Western country.

General Milley explained the signs that Kyiv is ready to take part in talks with Moscow offer a "window" for talks.

In recent days, Ukraine signaled a willingness to hold a series of dialogues with Moscow after President Volodymyr Zelensky withdrew demands that his job, Vladimir Putin, should be removed from his position before talks could resume.

But speaking in New York, General Milley added that in order for any dialogue to be successful, either Russia or Ukraine must achieve a "joint statement" if the victory of the war "is unlikely to be achieved through some military means, and therefore you need to find another step".

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The general - President Joe Biden's most senior military adviser - explained the death toll could give Moscow and Kyiv confidence in the importance of transacting throughout the winter months ahead, as the fight is likely to soar due to frost.

"It is likely that more than 100,000 Russian soldiers will die and be injured," General Milley said. "The same can happen to the Ukrainian side."

Either Ukraine or Russia keep tightly the number of deaths on their side.

A recent report from Moscow in September revealed that only 5,937 soldiers had died since the start of the dispute. Russia's Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, dismissed reports of a higher death toll.

General Milley's prediction is higher. To make a difference, 15,000 Soviet soldiers were predicted to die in disputes in Afghanistan throughout 1979-1989.

Ukraine rarely opens the casualty figures. But in August, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, Valeriy Zaluzhniy, was taken to the media explaining that 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers had died by that time.

The UN explained that the agency did not view some of the numbers launched by factions participating in the dispute as reliable.

"There are many tribulations, human tribulations," General Milley said. He wrote that between 15 and 30 million people have been refugees since Russia launched aggression on February 24.

The UN has written 7.eight million people as refugees from Ukraine in all of Europe, counting Russia. However, that figure does not count those who inevitably move out of their homes but still remain in Ukraine.

Russia withdraws from Kherson

On Wednesday (09/11), Moscow announced that its troops would begin to withdraw from the southern city of Kherson - one of the major cities that have fallen to Russian forces since they began aggression.

General Milley explained that while his "early signs" indicated that the troop withdrawal had already begun, he noticed that Russia had assembled about 20,000-30,000 troops in the city, and the withdrawal could take several weeks.

"They've announced to the audience if they do. I believe they are doing in an effort to keep their troops to re-create the line of defense south of the [Dnieper] river, but that's not necessarily," he said.

Information on Russia's withdrawal from Kherson came after Russian President Vladimir Putin summoned about 300,000 reserve troops to fight in Ukraine in September.

Military experts in the West and Ukraine explain the importance of deployments if Russian troops are not overall successful on the battlefields in Ukraine.

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Information on the withdrawal of troops from Kherson is said to be the Russian Commander in Ukraine, General Sergei Suriovikin. He explained it was impossible to return to always supply the city.

The withdrawal meant that Russian troops would withdraw entirely from the western edge of the Dnipro River.

It's as a meaningful blow to Russia, as he continues to face backlash from Ukraine.

Military officials announced the decision on Russian state TV, with General Surovikin giving a report of the state of affairs on the ground in Kherson.

"In this condition, the most logical choice is to arrange defenses along the inhibition line as far as the Dnipro river," General Surovikin said at the meeting.

But his determination to retreat across the Dnipro river was responded to cautiously by some top Ukrainian officials.

In a speech on Wednesday evening (09/11), President Volodymyr Zelensky explained Kyiv moved "absolutely cautiously" after the information.

"The opponent didn't give us a prize, didn't make a 'goodwill gesture', we won it all," he said.

"Therefore, we move with utmost care, without emotion, without unnecessary risk, to release all our land and so that the loss is as small as possible. "

Initially, President Zelensky's adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, explained "the treatment of speech is louder than sentences".

Reaction to the withdrawal of Russian troops

Throughout the last week, reports and issues if Russia would leave Kherson had been spread. On Ukraine's status on the perimeter around Kherson, some soldiers explained opponents were likely trying to ensnare them.

The Ukrainian commander explained they had good intelligence, and would only advance cautiously.

After the Russian information, civil society in Kherson explained that Chechen troops from the Russian military were in the city, in cafes, and moving in the streets.

Another civil society spoke: "Visually, nothing is different. On the right edge [of the west bank] at Kherson, they are almost invisible, and have been [like so] all day. They have taken everything they got.

"There were some on them on the left edge, and they made fortifications as far away as Dnipro and Plavni."

Another Kherson resident, Olga, explained to the BBC that there were fewer and fewer soldiers in the city.

"I've endured the pain of this whole citizenship but I'm still staying in Kherson because I think it's unfair to leave Kherson," he said. "I have to stay here and deal with all these hardships, I think that's my big problem. I don't understand, I have to stay. And I like it's going to be over as soon as it gets."

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President Putin's allies - who are in crisis at Russia's war effort - are looking ahead to the withdrawal.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Wagner's mercenary line and a longtime associate of Putin, explained that while the decision was "not the way to win", it was important "not to worry, not to be paranoid, but to draw summaries and correct mistakes".

"The decision made by [Gen] Surovikin was not easy, but he acted like a person who was not afraid of responsibility. He did it in an organized manner, without feeling afraid, taking full responsibility for making decisions," Prigozhin said.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov - whom Putin decided to rule the autonomous republic in the North Caucasus region in 2007 - explained General Surovikin had already committed acts "like a true military general, not afraid of being judged".

The method has just been well emptied by some in Ukraine, particularly on social media, with some people finding comedy in the withdrawal.

"At the end of the day, a code of goodwill," economist and blogger Serhiy Fursa said on Facebook, recalling Russia's remarks on its initial military defeat.

NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg explained it was "nice" to watch Ukraine make developments.

"This victory... has a gallant and brave Ukrainian army, but it is certain that the support it receives from the British, from its allies and Nato partners is important as well," he said.

Russian troops pounded southern Ukraine from Crimea at the beginning of the war, seizing the city of Kherson in early March.

They smoothed the onslaught in the south, east and north of the country, counting around the capital, Kyiv. But, in recent months, Ukrainian forces are already making meaningful developments.

Ukraine's retaliatory onslaught intensified in September, as they repulsed Russian forces, retaking several of its 2nd cities of Izyum and Kupiansk-- as important supply centers for Moscow forces.

Since then, Russia has particularly concentrated its military operations in small pockets in the south, east, and northeast of Ukraine.

There is no move for Moscow to visualize this withdrawal as anything other than a timid slump - its biggest defeat since Ukraine retook several large areas around the city of Kharkiv at the start of the season.

And it further destroys Russian information if they, illegally, annex several provinces in Ukraine, counting Kherson, which they say could become Russian territory "forever and ever".

But, just as Podolyak warned, there are many arguments for Ukraine to be wary.

The first is if the retreating Russian troops are likely to leave mines and traps for the advancing Ukrainian troops.

The 2nd is that if Russia, having withdrawn its troops to the eastern edge - and already "evacuating", sometimes by force, most civilians - would now be interested in bombarding Kherson.

Ultimately, the scheme that exists in this war is that if every Russia experiences a major military downturn, they respond with increasingly severe penalties for civilians.

It is predicted that more missiles and dron attacks will make winter more suffering for Ukraine.