A photo taken on September 27 shows a badly damaged house in the village of Vysokopillya, newly liberated Kherson region, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian-backed authorities are urging residents in the area to evacuate.
Genya Savilov / AFP via Getty Images
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Genya Savilov / AFP via Getty Images
A photo taken on September 27 shows a badly damaged house in the village of Vysokopillya, newly liberated Kherson region, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian-backed authorities are urging residents in the area to evacuate.
Genya Savilov / AFP via Getty Images
MOSCOW and KYIV – Russian-backed authorities began evacuating civilians from Ukraine-occupied Kherson region on Wednesday – in a sign that Moscow’s hold on the territory is increasingly in jeopardy amid the conflict. Ukraine’s increased counterattack.
In a video addressVladimir Saldo, the administrator installed by the Kremlin, has urged residents from the districts surrounding the regional capital Kherson to evacuate across the Dnipro River – a key line of defense – as Ukrainian forces continue to gain ground. stay in the south of Ukraine.
Saldo offered residents the option of resettling to cities “in any part of Russia”, adding that the Russian government would provide housing vouchers for those who wish to move further away from the fighting. .
“Let the Russian military do its job,” he said.
Others in his administration were less measured.
Kirill Stremousov, Saldo’s deputy appointed by Moscow, urged residents to evacuate “as quickly as possible” – says that the battle for Kherson “will begin soon.”
“We will not surrender to the city, and we will fight to the end,” he said, adding that residents whose homes were damaged by shelling could receive compensation from the Russian government. .
In early October, Ukrainian forces in the Kherson area pushed back the Russian line by 20 miles, according to Office of the President and Deep statean independent monitoring group.
“The Russians feel squeezed between our forces and the Dnipro coast, so they are looking to punish local communities,” said Natalia Humeniuk, a spokeswoman for Ukraine’s Southern Command. . Ukrainian commanders have set goals to free Kherson in the winter.
Russia’s top commander in Ukraine thinks his forces may need to retreat as Ukraine advances.
In his first interview since being appointed head of Russia’s armed forces in Ukraine on October 8, General Sergei Surovikin called the situation in Kherson “very difficult” and refused to rule out “difficult decisions”. hardest”.
Surovikin – who has overseen mass shelling of Ukrainian cities since taking over – accused Kyiv of targeting civilians and said Russia’s focus now is on saving lives.
“We will operate with the goal of maximizing the safety of our civilians and soldiers. That is our priority.” Surovikin told Zvezda channela state media agency funded by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington, DC-based think tank, suggestions similar plans are “an excuse to deport Ukrainian citizens to Russian territory when they settle occupied areas with Russian citizens.”
It is unclear how many residents heeded Russia’s warning to evacuate.
According to Russian state media, residents of Kherson received messages with instructions to take buses to evacuate the city.
Pro-Kremlin media reports Also shows people with bags lining up to catch the ferry across the Dnipro River.
In addition, Russian-backed authorities have announced that they will close travel to Kherson for the next week.
Kherson is one of four regions of Ukraine that Russia claims to have officially annexed after a series of referendums held in September.
Both referendums and bids for annexation were widely opposed by the international community.
Despite claiming the lands as part of the Russian Federation, Moscow’s forces were never able to establish full control over the territories.
