The Russian government delayed the official announcement of its withdrawal from the Ukrainian city of Kherson until after the midterm elections in the United States, in order to avoid favoring the political interests of President Joe Biden, according to an assessment by the US intelligence services.
Senior officials of the Russian Administration allegedly discussed the effects on the rival power of the symbolic loss of Kherson, the only provincial capital captured by forces loyal to Moscow since President Vladimir Putin gave the order to launch the invasion of the neighboring country on February 24.
According to sources quoted by CNN, waiting until after the US elections was a «condition» for recognizing a setback which the Russian authorities have tried to downplay in both strategic and political terms. US intelligence considers that Moscow had been finalizing the withdrawal for weeks.
Biden himself called it «interesting» that Russia had waited until after the election to confirm something that had been known «for some time.» «It shows that they have some real problems,» he said the day after the election, in which the Democrats were playing to retain control of both houses of Congress.
A greater Republican presence will theoretically limit the White House’s room for maneuver to continue helping Ukraine, in search of greater involvement of other international powers such as the European Union.
