According to the Russia-appointed local leader, tens of thousands of residents and Russian-appointed officials are being evacuated from the southern Kherson region of Ukraine in preparation for a Ukrainian invasion.
Vladimir Saldo stated that between 50,000 and 60,000 inhabitants would leave four towns on the west bank of the Dnieper in a “planned, progressive evacuation.”
Additionally, all Russian-appointed departments in the city of Kherson would cross the river.
Several individuals were shown on Russian television assembling near the Dnieper.
As people waited in line for boats, it was unclear how many were going. The removal or deportation of civilians from occupied territory by an occupying power is a war crime.
Mykhailo Podolyak, the adviser to the Ukrainian president, said that it had been less than a month since Russia had a ceremony to conquer Kherson: “Reality can sting if you live in a fantasy world.
The new Russian military commander in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin, described the situation in Kherson, the regional capital, as precarious on Monday evening.
Kirill Stremousov, a Russian-installed official, warned Kherson inhabitants that Ukrainian forces will launch an assault on the city “very soon.” “No one will retreat, but we also wish to preserve your life. Please proceed to the left bank as swiftly as possible “he advised.
Mr. Saldo, designated by Moscow as the region’s governor, stated on Russian television that no one was about to surrender, but that it was “undesirable” for citizens to remain in a city facing military action. “More than 5,000 people have fled Kherson in the previous two days,” he was reported as saying.
Earlier this month, Kherson’s exiled deputy mayor stated that only 100,000 of the city’s pre-war population of 320,000 remained, with many having fled Russia’s rule.
Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Russian-occupied Melitopol, predicted that Kherson’s population will be forcibly deported and evicted so that Russia could populate the city with “soldiers and traitors.” Last month, Ukraine said that 2.5 million Ukrainians had been forcibly deported to Russia.
The Russian-appointed governor accused Ukraine of preparing for a large-scale invasion and plotting to flood the region by destroying the Kakhovka dam on the Dnieper River.
Kherson was the first major Ukrainian city to fall to Russian soldiers during their February invasion of the country. However, in just a few weeks the Ukrainian military has reclaimed ground in the region’s north and advanced as far as 30 kilometers (19 miles) south along the Dnieper, threatening to encircle Russian forces.
In addition to annexing Kherson, the Kremlin declared last month that three additional Ukrainian areas were part of Russia, a claim that was rejected internationally.
