A news blackout in the south of the country has fueled rumors that a massive counterattack is impending.
As Russia stated that Ukraine was plotting a big strike and President Putin declared martial law in four seized territories, it appears that the people of Kherson have begun evacuating the city.
People in the city were seen boarding ferries to cross from the right bank of the Dnieper to the left bank.
Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-backed leader of the southern Kherson area, stated that between 50,000 and 60,000 people will be evacuated over the next six days and that Ukraine was planning a “massive onslaught.”
He also prohibited the entry of people into the zone for a week.
Ukraine has branded the evacuation a scare tactic and a propaganda ploy.
According to an unverified screenshot shared on social media, residents of Kherson got a text message instructing them to “evacuate immediately” because “residential blocks are likely to be shelled by the Ukrainian military.
The deputy head of the local government, Kirill Stremousov, also made a video appeal.
“Please take my words seriously and understand them as an order to evacuate as quickly as possible,” he said.
“We have no intention of surrendering the city; we will fight until the last end.”
In recent weeks, Russian soldiers in the region have been driven back approximately 20 to 30 kilometers (13 to 50 miles) and now fear being hemmed in by the Dnieper River.
Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, stated on Telegram: “The Russians are attempting to scare the inhabitants of Kherson with bogus newsletters claiming that our army is bombing the city, and they are also planning a propaganda performance involving evacuation.”
Recent Ukrainian counterattacks have reclaimed significant areas in the south and east, and the new Russian commander in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin, has described the situation in Kherson as “tight” and “complicated.”
A news blackout in southern Ukraine has fueled rumors of a massive counterattack.
Many inhabitants of Kherson city, which once had a population of over 280 thousand, have already moved to other regions of Ukraine or abroad.
Kherson is one of the territories that Russia currently claims as its following referendums that the West deemed to be fraudulent.
President Putin proclaimed martial law in these territories, which include Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhia, on Wednesday.
Typically, martial law signifies that the military is in authority instead of a civilian administration and that normal laws are suspended, but specifics are currently unknown.
The Russian-installed leaders of the four areas were also granted additional emergency powers – the contents of which were not divulged – and President Putin authorized the formation of territory defense forces.
Before a month ago, the president summoned 300,000 military reservists, causing huge lines at the borders as people attempted to avoid being recruited.
There were fears that Mr. Putin would close Russia’s borders to prevent males of combat age from leaving, but he refrained from doing so during his security meeting on Wednesday.
