Kherson: Russia ramps up relocation of civilians in city. It may be on the brink

CNN
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The Russian-installed leaders in Ukraine’s Kherson region on Wednesday began massively ramping up the relocation of up to 60,000 people amid warnings over Russia’s ability to withstand a Ukrainian counter-offensive.

Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of generating “hysteria” to compel people to leave. Residents in the city of Kherson began to receive text messages on Wednesday morning from the pro-Russian administration.

“Dear residents,” it read. “Evacuate immediately. There will be shelling of residential areas by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. There will be buses from 7:00, from Rechport [River port] to the Left Bank.”

Meanwhile on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he had signed a law introducing martial law in Kherson and three other Ukrainian regions the Kremlin claims to have annexed, in violation of international law. The other regions are Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk.

In his first outing on Russian state television as the Kremlin’s new commander for Ukraine, General Sergey Surovikin said Tuesday evening that the situation in Kherson was “far from simple” and “very difficult.”

“Our further plans and actions towards the city of Kherson will depend on the military and tactical situation on the ground,” he said.

Ukrainian forces have been advancing through several parts of the Kherson region in recent weeks, capturing villages and farmland along the western bank of the Dnipro River, also known as the right bank.

Russia’s ability to resupply its troops in Kherson has been severely hampered by frequent Ukrainian missile and artillery strikes on Russian-controlled bridges crossing the Dnipro. The explosion earlier this month that badly damaged the Kerch bridge, which connects Russia to Crimea, further bottlenecked Russia’s logistics.

Last week the head of the Russian-backed administration appealed to the Kremlin to help with the evacuation of civilians near the frontline.

On Tuesday, the rhetoric hit a new level. Just past 11 p.m. local time (4 p.m. ET), Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the Russian-backed administration, posted a video to his Telegram channel.

“The Ukrainian Nazis pushed by the West will start their attack on Kherson very soon,” he said. “We are strongly advising to leave the right bank area.”

This morning, just after 8 a.m., he followed that up with: “Cross as quickly as possible onto the left bank [the eastern side] of river Dnipro.” Hours later, the Russian-backed administration went so far as to close off all entry to the right bank of the Dnipro River for seven days.

Ukrainian officials believe that fewer than half of Kherson’s civilian population are left in the city – around 130,000 people.

Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-backed leader in the Kherson region, told Russian state television on Tuesday evening that they planned to move 50,000 to 60,000 people from the right to the left bank of the Dnipro River.