Did Russia Delay Kherson Withdrawal Till After US Midterm Elections?

President Biden said out loud to reporters what many observers had speculated: that Russia delayed its militarily-necessary withdrawal from Kherson until after Tuesday's US midterm elections in hopes that a Republican victory would force Ukraine to the negotiating table and obviate the need for the Kherson retreat. 

With the Republican embarrassment at the polls, Ukraine's diplomatic position was bolstered and Russia saw could delay the retreat no longer. JL 

World Crunch reports:

Regarding the timing of the announcement, Biden told reporters: “I find it interesting that they waited until after the [U.S. midterm] election to make that judgment.” The president’s comment was seen as an apparent reference to pre-election hopes in Moscow that a major defeat of Democrats could lead to reduced U.S. support for Ukraine. He said Moscow’s announced withdrawal was “evidence of the fact that they have some real problems, Russia, the Russian military.”

U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters that Moscow’s announced withdrawal was “evidence of the fact that they have some real problems, Russia, the Russian military.”

Regarding the timing of the announcement, Biden added: “I find it interesting that they waited until after the [U.S. midterm] election to make that judgment.” The president’s comment was seen as an apparent reference to pre-election hopes in Moscow that a major defeat of Democrats could lead to reduced U.S. support for Ukraine.

New Russian Offers For Negotiation Help Buy Time

Signaling its readiness for dialogue, Russia is simply trying to buy time to then launch a new stage of aggression on the front line, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko stated. “It it nothing more than another smokescreen to win time amid the defeats of the Russian army” he said on Facebook.

“Russian officials are beginning to mention talks every time their troops are defeated on the battlefield […] We already went through this in 2014-2015,” he said. He added that Ukraine has repeatedly offered negotiations, but “it has always received a contemptuous reaction, a demand to obey the Kremlin’s ultimatums or another act of genocide against Ukrainians.”

The latest to declare a desire to talk was Russia’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Maria Zahorova. “I will emphasize again … We are still open to negotiations, we have never refused them, we are ready to conduct them, of course, taking into account the realities that are emerging at the moment.”