The Russian occupation authorities in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine appealed to Moscow on Thursday to organize the evacuation of the civilian population from this territory, annexed by Russia at the end of September and subjected to a counteroffensive by the Ukrainian army, AFP and Agerpres reported.

War in Ukraine: the Ukrainian flag flies on the street in the liberated village of Visokopilya, Kherson regionPhoto: Genya Savilov / AFP / Profimedia Images

“We have offered all residents of the Kherson region who want to protect themselves from (Ukrainian) missile attacks to go to other regions of Russia,” Volodymyr Saldo, the head of the regional state administration, wrote in Telegram.

“Take your children and leave,” he urged in a statement posted on social media.

Saldo called on Russia to provide the necessary “assistance” “for the organization of such work”, saying that he proposed “in the first place” to evacuate residents of the right bank of the Dnieper, closer to the front line.

Where will the residents be taken?

These residents will be taken to the Russian regions closest to Kherson, he said, referring to the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014, and the Rostov, Krasnodar and Stavropol regions in southern Russia.

This message appeared a day after Kyiv announced the recapture of five cities in the Kherson region.

For several weeks, the Ukrainian army has been conducting a counteroffensive in the Russian-annexed territory, where last week Kyiv troops reported that they had recaptured more than 400 km² in less than a week.

“Cities of the Kherson region are subjected to rocket attacks every day,” Saldo said on Thursday. “These strikes cause serious damage, primarily to residents,” he complained.

What the British Ministry of Defense says about the battles in the Kherson region:

  • Having retreated approximately 20 km north of the Kherson direction in early October, Russian troops are likely trying to secure a new front line west of the village of Mylove.
  • Heavy fighting continues along this line, particularly at the western end, where the Ukrainian advance means that the Russian flank is no longer protected by the Ingulets River. Most of the Russian troops on this front line remain undermanned units of the Airborne Forces (Airborne).
  • In recent days, the Russian occupation authorities have probably issued an order to prepare for the evacuation of some of the civilians of Kherson. Probably, they foresee the expansion of hostilities in the city of Kherson itself.

___

  • Follow the latest events of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HotNews.ro