Tense situation. Leave Kherson immediately, the occupation authorities urged civilians
The Russian-appointed representatives of the Kherson region have already announced in recent days that they are evacuating the civilian population to the left bank of the Dnieper due to the ongoing Ukrainian offensive. They say they want to move 50,000 to 60,000 people in this way during the week.
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According to Reuters already thousands of civilians cross the rivers for several days and the last warning the authorities issued a very urgent one. Its reporters in the city of Olešky, which is located on the eastern bank of the Dnieper, saw people arriving on riverboats loaded with boxes, bags, and pets. One woman carried a toddler in one hand and a dog in the other, Reuters reports.
People then waited for buses to take them to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in violation of international law in 2014. “I really didn’t want to (leave), I still have work,” said one resident. “We wanted to stay here in the region, but now we don’t know,” he added.
However, in a final call to leave the city, some occupation authorities have invited residents who remain in Kherson to attend an “evening of Russian literature, music and art” at the local Palace of Culture today, Reuters noted.
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Kherson, located at the mouth of the Dnieper and the Black Sea, had approximately 280,000 inhabitants before the war. It became the first large Ukrainian city to be captured by the Russians after the invasion of Ukraine in February this year. Conclusion Russian troops gained control over a large part of the Kherson region, however, Ukrainian forces managed to fly and liberate several occupied villages.
The Ukrainian General Staff stated in its evening operational briefing that individual Russian units continue to leave the occupied territory of the Kherson region. “According to available information, the enemy has completely abandoned the villages of Čarivne and Čkalove. Officers and a medic are being evacuated from Beryslav,” wrote the command of the Ukrainian forces, according to which there are increasingly frequent cases of looting and robbing local residents by Russian forces. “The occupiers (in Kherson) are seizing the cars of local residents and are trying to leave the city using a ferry in the area of the (damaged) Antonivsky Bridge,” the Ukrainian General Staff claims.
Mutual accusations
Russia’s Defense Ministry said today that its forces repelled a Ukrainian attempt to breach the line in the Kherson region, a claim Kyiv did not comment on. Similar information of individual warring parties cannot be verified. In recent days, both sides have also accused each other of planning an attack on the Kachovská hydroelectric dam, a breach of its dam would cause a disaster in the form of a flood in part of the region. The device is also important for the production of electricity.
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Officials appointed by Russia, according to some information, are desperately trying to turn Kherson into a fortress and are trying to move tens of thousands of residents, the AP agency noted today.
While the occupation authorities say the transfers are voluntary, some Ukrainian officials have raised concerns about the possible forced transfer of residents to Russia or territory occupied by the invading army, according to the AP.