Zelensky watches as Ukraine flag is raised over liberated Kherson

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been filmed proudly singing the national anthem as he hosted the raising of the national flag in the recently liberated city of Kherson. Following the humiliating retreat of Russian soldiers from the strategic city last week, Ukraine’s forces quickly marched in, capturing the remaining soldiers and destroying escape routes across the Dnipro river to the southeast. In footage released on Telegram, Mr Zelensky could be seen holding his hand to his heart and singing the national anthem as the national flag was slowly raised up the flagpole. The ceremony marks the official reclaiming of the only provincial capital claimed by Russia since its invasion of Ukraine on February 24. The Ukrainian President joined hundreds of soldiers and military personnel for the flag raising ceremony. He was filmed quietly singing the national anthem, while at times he looked in awe of the successes of his country’s military. As the anthem came to a conclusion, thousands of Kherson locals gathered in the square erupted into applause and cheers. Mr Zelensky’s trip to Kherson was another in a series of unexpected visits to front-line areas at crucial moments of the war. It was laden with symbolism and the common touch – aimed at boosting the morale of soldiers and civilians alike. Voloydmyr Zelensky holds his hand to his heart as he sings the national anthem (Image: GETTY ) Hundreds of Ukraine soldiers celebrate the liberation of Kherson (Image: GETTY )He triumphantly walked the streets of the newly liberated city of Kherson on Monday, hailing Russia’s withdrawal as the ‘beginning of the end of the war,’ but also acknowledging the heavy price Ukrainian troops are paying in their grinding effort to push back the invaders.Residents draped with flags on their shoulders cheered, cried and shouted in gratitude as Mr Zelensky walked by during his tour of the city. Danila Yuhrenko, a Kherson local, described the scene as ‘amazing’, adding: ‘We’ve been waiting for him for nine months.’Serhii Yukhmchuk, 47, said he and his wife spent the occupation mostly at home to avoid any Russians and protested by refusing to use the ruble as currency.READ MORE: Up to 15 percent of Russian forces still trapped in city of Kherson [REVEAL]  Residents draped with flags on their shoulders cheered, cried and shouted in gratitude (Image: GETTY ) Zelensky hands out medals to Ukrainian soldiers (Image: GETTY )The retaking of Kherson was one of Ukraine’s biggest successes in the nearly 9-month-old war, dealing another stinging blow to the Kremlin. It could serve as a springboard for more advances into occupied territory. President Joe Biden called it a ‘significant victory’ for Ukraine.’I can do nothing but applaud the courage, determination and capacity of the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian military,” he said on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Indonesia. ‘They’ve really been amazing. … we’re going to continue to provide the capability for the Ukrainian people to defend themselves.”Mr Zelensky awarded medals to soldiers in Kherson and posed with them for selfies while striking a defiant note.’This is the beginning of the end of the war,’ he said. ‘We are step by step coming to all the temporarily occupied territories.’DON’T MISS: Putin facing intense rare wave of criticism from state bloggers [REVEAL] Putin ‘on the back foot’ after Ukraine’s Kherson victory [REPORT] ‘I don’t think you should underestimate Russia’ warned defence… [INSIGHT] A Ukrainian soldier hugs Kherson locals (Image: GETTY )But he also grimly noted that the fighting ‘took the best heroes of our country.’ Large parts of eastern and southern Ukraine are still under Russian control, and the city of Kherson itself remains within reach of Moscow’s shells and missiles. Heavy fighting also continued elsewhere in Ukraine, with Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti reporting the town of Oleshky, in Russian-held territory across the Dnipro River from Kherson, had come under heavy artillery fire.The Institute for the Study of War said Ukraine has won ‘an important victory’ in Kherson and other areas west of the Dnieper, but the Washington-based think tank noted that ‘it has by no means liberated the minimum territory essential to its future security and economic survival’.NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also warned that Moscow should not be underestimated despite the humiliating retreat. ‘The Russian armed forces retain significant capability as well as a large number of troops, and Russia has demonstrated their willingness to bear significant losses,’ he said from The Hague.READ MORE: One survivor’s account of hellish Russian prison in Kherson’Collaborators’ tied to posts as Ukrainian police hunt traitorsCIA director meets Kremlin intelligence boss for nuclear crisis talkRussian pundit loses it as she slams Kremlin for not ‘preparing’Rocked Russians have nowhere to hide as 500 pinpointed