When the Russian government announced to the world that they were withdrawing from Kherson, no one took them seriously. Everyone thought it was an attempt at a disinformation campaign. After all, the Ukrainians had done the same thing just a few months before when they announced their Kherson offensive but struck north by Kharkiv with the bulk of their army. While optimistic, Ukrainian leaders and the world figured that Russia was still digging in for a long fight. But to everyone’s surprise, they actually left. But why would withdrawing from Kherson benefit Russia?