KYIV, Ukraine – With Russian and Ukrainian forces seemingly preparing to fight the city of Kherson, signs of Kremlin rule are disappearing from the city’s streets while residents remain. On the other hand, uncertain to believe and afraid of what will happen next, is hoarding food and fuel to survive the fighting.
According to residents contacted by phone on Thursday, most civilians have already left. The tricolor Russian flag, which was hoisted above government offices after Moscow’s forces captured Kherson in February, went missing Thursday from the region’s main administrative building and other locations.
“On one hand I am happy to see that, but on the other hand I worry that it will become anarchic now,” said Kherson resident Oleksandr – who, like others interviewed, asked to keep his last name for his safety – said in a text message. “So I bought more stuff because I didn’t know if it would be safe to move around the city in the coming days or weeks.”
Kremlin-appointed administrators moved to a location 50 miles away – after robbing anything of value they could, Ukrainian residents and officials said.
But Russian troops have not yet withdrawn from the area.
Ukraine’s military intelligence says Russia has deployed about 40,000 troops to the west bank of the Dnipro River to prevent Ukrainian troops from retaking Kherson.
As Ukrainian forces advance from the north and west, they are meeting fierce resistance, and Ukrainian officials say they expect the battle for the southern city to be brutal, as its losses will be devastating. is a great strategic and symbolic loss for President Vladimir V.Putin. of Russia.
Like Kherson, much of eastern and southern Ukraine has been largely depopulated since the Russian invasion in February. More than 14 million people – about a third of the pre-war population – were evicted from their homes, according to the United Nationswith more than half of them currently living abroad.
Those remaining in Ukraine face increasingly harsh conditions as Russian missile and drone attacks deprive them of shelter, electricity, heat and water as winter approaches.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, told the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday that Ukraine represents “the fastest and largest migration the world has seen in decades.” “. He added that ” devastation caused by strikes on civil infrastructureWhat’s going on, as we’re saying, is rapidly making the humanitarian response like a drop of demand.”
The United Nations nuclear watchdog on Thursday said it had inspected three Ukrainian facilities and found no evidence of illegal nuclear activity, refuting Russian claims that Ukraine is using these sites to prepare a radioactive “dirty bomb”. Ukrainian and Western officials have denied those allegations, without corroborating evidence, suggesting that the Kremlin may be using the allegation as an excuse. excuse to escalate war.
Also on Thursday, U.S. officials met Brittney Griner, the American basketball star jailed since February in Russia, for the first time since a court rejected her appeal on suspicion of felony charges. marijuana storage. The White House and State Department have tried to secure her release.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: “We say she is doing as well as can be expected under these circumstances. told reporters on Air Force One when she accompanied President Biden to New Mexico.
Kherson, which had fallen in the first days of the invasion, was the only regional capital occupied by the Russians, whose position there became increasingly precarious in the face of the Ukrainian onslaught. Ukrainian forces destroyed bridges linking Kherson with Russian-controlled territory via the Dnipro in the east, making it more difficult for Moscow’s forces to resupply and resupply the city.
Pro-Kremlin military bloggers on Thursday expressed concern about what they say are suggestions that Russia may be preparing not only a civilian but also military withdrawal, ceding the city to the Ukrainians . Ukrainian officials dismissed that talk as a fabrication, intended to lure their forces into a trap the Russians had painstakingly built for months.
In recent days the Russians have been seen reinforcing defensive positions outside the city. The Ukrainian military has reported the move of Russian heavy artillery to the east bank of the river, a move it and some local residents see as an ominous sign of preparing to devastate the city. waste.
“I think they are removing their personnel so that in case the defenses are broken they can easily bombard the city,” said Ivan, a resident of Kherson.
Natalia Humeniuk, a spokeswoman for Ukraine’s military command, said any sign of a Russian withdrawal “could be a provocation to create the impression that they have left the settlements and can get in there safely.” “Considering the fact that they have been preparing for street fights for a long time and the way they position their units, we are aware that this could be a planned tactical move. plan, and we should not be too hasty to rejoice. We must understand that mixed warfare consists of hoaxes like these, attacks that can be calculated to weaken an army.”
A Western official said on Thursday that most of the Russian commanders had withdrawn from the city, crossed the river to the east, and left the troops “quite demoralized” (and in some cases, not) has a leader) to face Ukrainian forces.
Many of the Russian troops in Kherson are newly deployed reservists who are “badly equipped and unprepared” for combat, the official said.
Each side accuses the other of preparing to damage the Kakhovka Dam, upstream of the Dnieper, which could flood much of the city and surrounding country. The dam has the closest river crossing for the Russians west of Dnipro.
In October, Russia’s proxy government in the region ordered civilians to evacuate the city of Kherson, bringing thousands of them across the river but making it difficult for them to cross the front lines into Ukrainian-held territory. . Ukrainian officials and some locals say people have been forced against their desire to go deeper into Russian-held territory, though some unknowns remain in Kherson.
Speaking on Russian state television, Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Kremlin-appointed occupation management agency, continued to urge people to evacuate areas on both sides of the Dnipro, even saying that Russian troops “most likely” will move to the east coast. In another video from the city, he laments how many people are still walking the streets of Kherson.
“Everyone, who have been ignoring our calls about security and shelling, I remind you that the situation is very difficult,” he said in One video posted on Telegram, a popular social messaging app.
On Thursday, photos showed the destruction of at least six cell towers along the west bank of the Dnipro, further cutting off residents from the outside world and making it easier to visualize what’s going on. out becomes more difficult. Serhii Klan, deputy manager of Ukraine’s Kherson region, said the Russians have now banned civilian movement along the river.
According to some residents, there is little apparent panic in the city, although it is believed that it is a question of time before bombs begin to fall. Mr. Ivan said they are stocking up on water and non-perishable foods, as well as gasoline and firewood.
“They are cleaning up and providing their basements,” he said.
The occupying government moved to the city of Skadovsk, about 50 miles southeast, firmly within Russian-held territory. Ukrainians say that Russian military and civilian managers have stripped the city of all ambulances, fire trucks and medical supplies, as well as most of its furniture, artwork, equipment and symbols. religious statue. They even take the bones of Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin18th century commander who helped Catherine the Great conquer southern Ukraine.
Halyna Luhova, head of the regional administration of Ukraine, said: “All property in our city, belongs to city businesses that provide essential services to our city, has been robbed.
Over the past two days, he said, he has seen occupation authorities dressed in civilian clothes stripping local government buildings of goods, taking away furniture, office supplies and even furniture. in plumbing. All the looted goods were loaded onto white vans that arrived early in the fight with humanitarian assistance, he said.
Marc Santora reported from Kyiv and Ivan Nechepurenko from Tbilisi, Georgia. Report contributed by Richard Pérez-Peña from New York, Matthew Mpoke Bigg from London, Michael Schwirtz from Lviv, Ukraine, Eric Schmitt from Washington and Dan Bilefsky from Montreal.
