Pro-Russian authorities in Kherson, southern Ukraine, admitted on Tuesday the numerical superiority of Ukrainian forces in the region, but assured they were able to repel all attacks.
“Despite the numerical superiority of the Ukrainian armed forces,” Russian soldiers “successfully repel all attacks,” Deputy Governor Kirill Stremousov said, quoted by Spain’s EFE news agency.
Kherson is one of four Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia on September 30, along with Donetsk, Lugansk and Zaporijia.
It is also one of the targets of a counter-offensive launched by Kiev’s troops about two months ago.
“The situation remains stable on the front lines in the Kherson region. We do not see any form of massive offensive,” Stremousov said. on the social network Telegram.
Stremousov said that “thousands of Nazis and Ukrainian civilians who were forcibly pushed into the trenches remain on the fringes of the region,” referring to the Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers.
“We expect an outcome of events in the coming days,” he said.
Stremousov admitted that pro-Russian officials are prepared for “any decision, even the most difficult one”.
He also said Moscow’s priority is to preserve the lives of the residents of Kherson, from which tens of thousands of people have been evacuated in recent days in preparation for a Ukrainian offensive.
Last Friday, Stremousov had admitted that Russian troops are “very likely … to march to the left bank” of the Dnieper River.
If confirmed, this would mean the loss of the regional capital Kherson, located on the right bank of the river.
Pro-Russian authorities announced on Monday the end of the organized evacuation of residents of the city of Kherson, without specifying the number of those affected.
Ukrainian military sources said about 80 percent of residents left the city, which was home to nearly 320,000 people, before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 20 this year.
Stremousov previously said Kherson residents would be transported to Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
There, as he said on Monday, “they will be taken in by volunteers” and then transferred to other regions of Russia, where they will stay in temporary housing.
Kiev authorities have been cautious about the Russian relocation of Kherson residents to Crimea.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov even admitted that it could be an operation to believe in a false withdrawal and to trap Ukrainian troops.
The information about the war released by both sides cannot be directly verified independently.
The number of civilian and military casualties from the war in Ukraine is unknown, but several sources, including the UN, have warned it will be high.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine plunged Europe into what is considered the worst security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
Source: DN
