Kherson’s pro-Russian authorities on Thursday recognized the possibility of a Russian military withdrawal and called for the urgent evacuation of the civilian population from the Moscow-annexed region of southern Ukraine.
“Most likely, our units, our troops, will move to the part of Kherson that lies on the left bank” of the Dnieper River, Moscow-appointed Deputy Governor Kiril Stremousov, quoted by Spain’s EFE news agency, said.
The withdrawal of the Russian army from the right bank would mean the surrender of Kherson, the only Ukrainian regional capital that Moscow has managed to control in more than eight months of war.
It would also be a setback equal to or greater than the withdrawal from the Kiev periphery in March and the Kharkiv region in September, according to EFE.
The Kherson region was annexed by Russia on September 30, along with Zaporijia (southeast), Donetsk and Lugansk (in Donbass, east).
“Life in the city of Kherson goes on. There are no problems with food. [das forças ucranianas] to break through the defense lines does not stop,” Stremousov said on the social network Telegram.
However, Stremousov warned that residents who have not yet left the city “must leave as soon as possible”.
The warning coincided with the publication on social media of images of the Kherson Regional Administration headquarters without the Russian flag, where it has hung since March.
“Something interesting will certainly happen in Kherson soon,” secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danylov said, commenting on the removal of the Russian flag.
“The same thing happened in Izium and other cities as our forces approached,” he added.
The spokeswoman for the Southern Command of the Ukrainian army, Nataliya Gumenyuk, warned that removing the flag could be a ploy to create the illusion of a Russian withdrawal.
“If we take into account that they have been preparing for street fights for a long time, (…) we should not be in a hurry to rejoice,” Gumenyuk said.
According to the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, General Kyrylo Bukanov, Russia has a contingent of about 40,000 troops concentrated in Kherson, made up of the best prepared units.
Still, Budanov predicted that the liberation of the part of Kherson on the right bank of the Dnieper could be completed by the end of this month.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 this year and plunged Europe into what is considered the worst security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
Ukraine’s western allies provided military equipment to Kiev’s armed forces, enabling them to launch a counter-offensive in regions under Russian control.
Source: DN
