The commander of Russian forces in Ukraine said his troops will withdraw from the crucial port city of Kherson, a major setback reflecting the Kremlin's increasing struggles to turn back a Ukrainian counteroffensive that has returned hundreds of miles of seized land to Ukrainian control. General Sergey Surovikin, speaking on Russian state TV, said retreat from the only regional capital seized since the war began in February was "a hard decision." But he told Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu the move would spare the lives of troops and allow for establishment of a better defensive position. Russia's invasion got off to a roaring start in February as troops rolled toward Kyiv and swept across thousands of miles of other regions in eastern and southern Ukraine.