More than 5,000 people have already left in the last two days and an estimated 10,000 people a day will move in the next six days.
An adviser to the Ukrainian presidency said today addressing Russia that “reality can hurt” after a Moscow-appointed official said the Ukrainian army was expected to try to retake the occupied city of Kherson and called on residents to leave.
Kherson is the most populous center captured by Moscow during its invasion of Ukraine and is in territory that President Vladimir Putin has now formally incorporated into Russia, a move not recognized by Ukraine and the West.
“It’s been less than a month since the pompous announcement of the annexation of Kherson and the concert in Red Square, while the self-proclaimed ‘city administration’… is officially vacating pending Ukrainian justice. Reality can hurt if you live in a fantasy world,” said the adviser to the Ukrainian presidency Mihailo Podoliak in a post on Twitter.
“Propaganda Show” from Russia
At the same time, a high-ranking Ukrainian official blamed Russia that he is organizing a “propaganda show” in occupied Chersona. Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, also accused Russia of trying to scare Kherson residents with what he called false reports of Ukrainian shelling in the southern Ukrainian city. “The Russians are trying to scare the people of Kherson with false updates about the bombardment of the city by our army and also to organize a propaganda show with the evacuation,” he wrote in a post on Telegram. “Propaganda will not work.”
Russian-appointed officials in the occupied Ukrainian city of Kherson said today they were preparing to defend it against an imminent Ukrainian attack and called on civilians to leave as soon as possible.
The Russian-appointed governor of the region Vladimir Saldo he stated in a television interview: “No one is going to hand over Kherson, but it is not desirable for the inhabitants to be in a city where military operations are to be conducted.’
“We expect an attack and the Ukrainian side does not hide it”Saldo stated.
His deputy, Mr Kirill Stremusovstated that Ukrainian attack is coming soon. “I urge you to take my words seriously and take what they mean: the fastest possible evacuation,” he said in a Telegram post late yesterday.
Kherson is one of the four Ukrainian regions partially controlled by Russia, etcwhose annexation it declared last month, placing them under its nuclear umbrella.
If Ukraine retakes it, it would be a huge new defeat for President Vladimir Putin’s military and would test his stated commitment to defend what he calls Russian territory with all available means, including nuclear weapons.
Saldo told Russian television: “Right now we have enough capabilities to repel attacks and counterattack if the situations require it. The city will hold, we just need to protect the peaceful inhabitants. The soldiers know what they have to do, they will fight to the death.”
The movement of the population began
According to him, over 5,000 people have already left in the last two days etcIt is estimated that 10,000 people per day will move in the next six days.
Saldo also announced that entry into the Russian-controlled Kherson region would be barred to civilians for “seven days.”
Earlier, the occupation authorities had announced the start of the evacuation of civilians to the opposite bank of the Dnieper. Russian media released images showing civilians boarding boats to cross the river. According to the Ria-Novosti news agency, subscribers of local mobile phone networks received messages urging them to leave the area before “the shelling of the Ukrainian army”.
Last night, the new commander of Russian forces in Ukraine made a rare acknowledgment of the pressure they are under from Ukrainian offensives aimed at recapturing southern and eastern areas Moscow says it annexed just weeks ago. Referring to Kherson, General Sergei Surovikin said: “The situation in this region is difficult. The enemy is deliberately hitting infrastructure and homes.”
TF
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I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
