More flee Kherson, Ukraine as Russian occupiers update warnings

ORESHIKI, RUSSIA-RUIZED UKRAINE (Reuters) – Russian occupation authorities in the Ukrainian city of Kherson on Saturday told civilians to vacate immediately due to the tense military situation with the advance of Ukrainian forces.

Thousands of civilians crossed the Dnipro River and left for days after being warned of a Ukrainian operation to retake the city. The latest alert was delivered with renewed urgency.

“Watch out for the safety of your family and friends! Don’t forget your documents, money, valuables and clothing,” said the Russian-based authorities.

In Orezhky, across the Dnipro, Reuters saw people arriving by river boat from Kherson with boxes, bags and pets. A woman had a toddler in one arm and a dog in the other.

Some boats were loaded with pallets of vegetables and food. Staff from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations carried the elderly and children off the ship in strollers. The family then waited to catch a bus to Crimea, annexed by Russia.

“I really[didn’t want to leave.]I’m still working,” one resident told Reuters. “We wanted to stay in the area, but now we don’t know.”

Under Russian control for most of the eight-month war, the Battle of Kherson appears to have reached a critical moment as advancing Ukrainian forces threaten to trap Russian forces along the western bank of the Dnipro River. looks like

The leader of the Russian-installed region said this week that Russia plans to move an estimated 10,000 residents a day out of Kherson and that Russia is preparing to receive them in anticipation of a Ukrainian counterattack. Stated.

Despite the latest warnings, the occupation authorities invited those still in the city on Saturday to an “Evening of Russian Literature, Music and Art” at Kherson’s Palace of Culture for readings and orchestral performances. rice field.

Ukraine has imposed an information blockade on the Kherson Front, but Russian General Sergei Slovikin said this week that the situation in Kherson was “already difficult” and that Russia “has not ruled out difficult decisions”.

At a briefing on Saturday, Russia’s defense ministry said its forces had repelled a Ukrainian attempt to break through the lines of control in the Kherson region. Reuters could not independently verify his battlefield claims.

Kherson is the only provincial capital Russia has occupied and held intact since the February 24th invasion. The Kherson region was one of four regions that President Vladimir Putin said last month that Moscow claims to be his territory “forever.”

Putin has said Russia is ready to resort to nuclear weapons if necessary to defend the territories it claims to be its own. The declared annexation was condemned as illegal by Ukraine, its allies, and the UN General Assembly.

Written by Caleb Davis and Mark Trevelyan.Edited by Edmund Blair

Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.