Russian occupiers call Cherson “evacuation” – Ukraine talks about “propaganda show”
“Russians Expect Major Attack by Ukrainians”
The pro-Russian administration has completely withdrawn from the city of Kherson and the evacuation process has begun. “The Ukrainians are far superior to the Russians there,” says Christoph Wanner. “Areas can only be reached by boats and helicopters.”
Even the new Russian commander-in-chief characterizes the situation for his troops as “difficult”: according to Russian information, Ukraine is about to launch a major attack on Cherson and is calling on civilians to flee.
RRussia is preparing for a Ukrainian offensive in the Cherson region and has called on people to evacuate to safety. Some 50,000 to 60,000 people are to be taken to the east bank of the Dnipro River or to Russia, Russian-appointed administrator Vladimir Zalto announced on Wednesday, state news agency Tass reported. The evacuation is expected to take about six days.
The pro-Russian administration also announced a complete withdrawal from the city of Kherson. “As of today, all government structures of the city, civil and military administration, all ministries, will be transferred to the left bank of the river (Dnipro),” Salto told Russian broadcaster Rosija 24. In addition, civilians will be allowed to enter the entire Russian-occupied zone of Cherson, which is prohibited for seven days.
Zalto’s deputy, Kirill Stremosov, called on the public to leave the regional capital via the Telegram messenger service. “I urge you to take my words seriously and put them into action: a very quick evacuation,” he wrote.
Ukraine has concentrated tens of thousands of soldiers in the south of the country. Early in the morning, the invaders announced the first counter-attacks. The Ukrainians launched an attack in the direction of Nova Kamianka and Perislav, Stremusov wrote on his Telegram channel on Wednesday. However, so far all attacks have been thwarted. Kyiv said in the morning that it had shot down a Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter in the Cherson region.
At the same time, Ukraine accused Russia of conducting a “propaganda program” with evacuations and warnings of an attack on the occupied city of Kherson. Andriy Yermak, head of the presidency, spoke about fake news that wants to scare residents of Russia. “The Russians are trying to intimidate the residents of the city of Kherson with fake news about shelling by our army, and also hold a propaganda show with evacuations,” he wrote in a text message to Telegram. “Propaganda doesn’t work.”
“Don’t rule out tough decisions”
The new supreme commander of Russian troops in Ukraine has admitted that the situation in the region is difficult. “The enemy is targeting infrastructure and residential buildings,” Sergei Churovikhin told the Rossiya 24 broadcaster.
Artillery attacks made the Dnipro River impassable. This complicates distribution. “We will act carefully and in a timely manner, and we will not rule out difficult decisions,” Surovikin said. This was taken as a sign of possible withdrawal.
The city of Kherson is located on the west bank of the Dnipro River
Credit: AFP/ANDREY BORODULIN
In recent weeks, Russian troops have been pushed back 20 to 30 kilometers and are at risk of being pushed to the west bank of the Dnipro River. Russian soldiers on the right bank of the Dnipro were said to have been largely cut off. Ukraine in July is strategically important with Western weapons Antonovsky Bridge over the Dnipro Hit several times and made it impassable.
Cherson became the only Ukrainian regional capital to fall into Russian hands in March — shortly after the start of Russia’s war of aggression against its neighbor. President Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of the region to Russia in October. Internationally, illegal annexation is not recognized.
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