Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a triumphant visit to the newly liberated city of Kherson on Monday, hailing the Russian withdrawal as the “beginning of the end of the war” but also acknowledging the heavy price Ukrainian soldiers are paying in their grinding effort to push back the invading force.

The retaking of Kherson was one of Ukraine’s biggest successes in nearly nine months since the invasion. It served another stinging blow to the Kremlin.

Zelensky walked the streets of the city on Monday, just hours after warning in his nightly video address of booby traps and mines left behind by the Russians before their retreat.

“This is the beginning of the end of the war,” he said.

“We are step by step coming to all the temporarily occupied territories.” The end of Russia’s occupation of the city has sparked days of celebration — but also exposed a humanitarian emergency. Russia still controls about 70 per cent of the wider Kherson region.

Zelensky has appeared unexpectedly in other frontline areas at crucial junctures of the war and his latest visit was both laden with symbolism and the common touch —aimed at boosting the morale of soldiers and civilians.