Ukraine: Over 70,000 civilians fled Kherson in one week

“More than 70,000″ citizens have left their homes “within a week” in Russian-held southern Kherson province after pro-Russian occupation authorities began evicting residents on October 19, the Moscow-appointed official said today head of local authorities Vladimir Saldo.

“I am sure that more than 70,000 (people) have left within a week since the transfer was organized” from the right bank of the Dnieper River to the left bank, further from the front, Saldo told Krym 24 television.

The pro-Russian occupation authorities in Kherson province began on October 19 to evacuate civilians there in anticipation of an offensive by Ukrainian military forces.

Since the beginning of September, the Ukrainian army has been gradually advancing into this province, which was annexed by Moscow at the end of that month, but which Russia does not fully control.

Ukrainian territorial gains prompted pro-Russian authorities to ask the civilian population to leave their homes and cross the Dnieper River to the left bank, further from the front line.

Today, Saldo announced “the ban on entry into the Right Bank area for a period of seven days” given the “tense situation on the contact line”.

To justify taking this measure the head of the Russian occupation administration pointed out the “immediate risk of flooding of the territories of the province of Kherson etcand mass destruction of civilian infrastructure” from Kyiv, according to him.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said today that Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces in Kherson is proving more difficult than that in northeastern Ukraine due to rainy weather and the nature of the terrain.

Reznikov told a press conference that Russian forces are using water supply channels as trenches in this rural province.

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