A man holds a Ukranian flag as people gather in Maidan Square to celebrate the liberation of Kherson (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the recapture of Kherson an ‘historic day’, as Ukrainian troops were greeted by tearful crowds and residents celebrated in the streets.

Russia said it had completed its withdrawal of 30,000 soldiers across the Dnipro River, in one of Vladimir Putin’s biggest humiliations of the war.

They claimed to have left the city without losing a single fighter, but Ukrainian authorities described Russian troops ditching their uniforms, dropping weapons and drowning while trying to flee.

It marked the third major retreat of the conflict and the first to involve yielding such a large occupied city in the face of a major counter-offensive that has retaken huge swathes of the east and south.

A woman holds a slogan which reads as ‘Kherson’ as people gather in Maidan Square to celebrate the liberation of Kherson (Picture: AFP via Getty)

A child holds a Ukranian flag (Picture: AFP via Getty)

People hold a slogan which reads ’11/11/2022 – Kherson – Ukraine’ (Picture: AFP via Getty)

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kherson is ‘ours’ (Picture: AFP via Getty)

Residents forced to leave the city due to the war gather in front of the Odessa National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet in Odessa (Picture: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

People celebrate after Russia’s retreat (Picture: Reuters)

A young girl gets the Ukrainian flag painted on her face (Picture: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

People hold a Ukranian flag and a slogan which reads ‘Kherson – Ukraine’ in Maidan Square (Picture: AFP via Getty)

In his nightly address, President Zelensky said: ‘Today is a historic day. We are regaining the south of our country, regaining Kherson.’

He went on: ‘The people of Kherson were waiting. They never gave up on Ukraine. Hope for Ukraine is always justified – and Ukraine always regains its own.

‘I am happy to see how people, despite all the threats, despite the repression and abuse of the occupiers, cherished the Ukrainian flags, believed in Ukraine.

‘And even when the city is not yet completely cleansed of the enemy’s presence, the people of Kherson themselves are already removing Russian symbols and any traces of the occupiers’ stay in Kherson from the streets and buildings.

‘It was the same in all other cities liberated by our defenders. It will be the same in those cities that are still waiting for our return. Ukraine will come to all its people.’

First Lady Olena Zelenska tweeted a video showing tearful crowds lining the streets to welcome Ukrainian soldiers driving into Kherson for the first time since the withdrawal.

A man in military clothing gestures next to a Ukrainian flag in Kalynivske in Kherson region (Picture: Reuters)

A man tears down a Russian billboard poster in Bilozerka, Kherson Oblast (Picture: Reuters)

People cheer and wave a Ukrainian flag on top of a statue at Freedom Square in Kherson (Picture: Reuters)

Many waved Ukraine flags and offered their hands to the soldiers.

Others show dozens of people cheering and chanting victory slogans in Kherson city’s central square, where the apparent first Ukrainian troops to arrive snapped selfies in the throng.

Two men hoisted a female soldier on their shoulders and tossed her into the air. Some residents wrapped themselves in Ukrainian flags. One man was weeping with joy.

Ukraine’s defence intelligence agency said Kherson was being restored to Ukrainian control and ordered any remaining Russian troops to surrender to Kyiv’s forces entering the city.

Locals had placed Ukrainian flags in the square as news of the end of more than eight months of occupation filtered out.

‘Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Heroes! Glory to the Nation!’ one man shouted in another video.

Kherson province is one of four regions Putin claimed to have annexed from Ukraine in late September.

It is also strategically important as the land gateway to Crimea, the peninsula annexed in 2014 and where Moscow’s Black Sea fleet is based.

The loss of Kherson city could dash dreams voiced by some Russians of seizing Ukraine’s entire Black Sea coast, although Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the region’s annexed status remained unchanged.

Unconfirmed reports on social media claimed Russian troops left behind were instructed to ditch their uniforms and don civilian clothes in an attempt to avoid detection.

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Addressing ‘those Russian soldiers, mercenaries and collaborators who were left behind’, President Zelensky warned: ‘The only chance for salvation for you is to surrender to Ukrainian captivity.

‘We guarantee that you will be treated in accordance with the law and international standards.

‘And to those Russian soldiers who have put on civilian clothes and are hiding somewhere I want to say that there is no point in hiding. We’ll find you anyway. Don’t drag it out.’

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‘The people of Kherson were waiting. They never gave up on Ukraine. Hope for Ukraine is always justified – and Ukraine always regains its own.’