The first train bound for the Ukrainian city of Kherson from the capital, Kyiv, since before Russia’s invasion completed its 11-hour journey on Friday night, a step in reconnecting the vital southern city a week after Ukrainian troops wrested control back from Russian occupation.

Train 102 carried 200 passengers and would be the start of regular service between the cities, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a senior official in the president’s office, wrote in a Telegram post.

Videos posted on social media by Ukrainian officials showed the train departing to cheers and applause from people on the platform as triumphant rock music blasted over the loudspeakers. “This is our victory train!” Tymoshenko wrote. “Like this train, we will return to Kherson everything for a normal life!”

Kherson was the first major city to be taken by Moscow’s forces after February’s invasion and remained under Russian control until November 11, when Ukrainian troops entered the city to jubilant cheers from residents. Russia’s withdrawal from the city across the Dnipro river, pulling out of the only regional capital in its grasp, was a blow to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in his war.

In the months of occupation, the city’s residents were subjected to Russia’s campaign for assimilation and the suppression of Ukrainian identity. Accounts of harsh interrogations, torture and abuse at the hands of Russian soldiers have emerged in the days after Russia’s retreat.

Electricity and water were restored to the train station in Kherson ahead of the train’s arrival.