The situation of the Russian armed forces in the Cherson region has recently deteriorated further and further. Russian military equipment is also already being evacuated in view of the Ukrainian offensive. However, the occupation government insists that it does not want to give up the city of Cherson.
According to Moscow, it is expanding the southern Ukrainian city of Cherson into a “fortress”. The city, occupied by Russian troops, is preparing to defend itself against the advancing Ukrainian army, Kirill Stremouzov, representative of the region’s pro-Russian administration, wrote on Telegram. He insisted that Russia would not give up Kherson. “Believe me, no one intends to give up the city,” said the deputy chief of the occupation government.
The situation of the Russian armed forces in and around Cherson had recently deteriorated further and further. In view of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, the occupation authorities announced their withdrawal from the region and also from the strategically important city on Wednesday. The day before, the Russian Commander-in-Chief in Ukraine, General Sergey Surovikin, spoke on television about a difficult situation in the sector of the front.
A video by a pro-Russian separatist suggests that the evacuation of war material began days ago. Footage first appeared on the Internet on October 10 showing him on a ferry carrying military trucks crossing from the west bank of the Dnipro to the east bank.
However, the Kremlin does not want to say whether Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the evacuation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov gave evasive answers in Moscow. “This question concerns the conduct of military special operations, I recommend you to address it to the Ministry of Defense,” he said. According to the Ukrainian armed forces, they are pushing ahead with their offensive against Russian troops in the Kherson region.
According to Ukraine, 88 towns and villages in the Kherson region have been recaptured since last week. “Kherson region: 88 places liberated,” said Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Tymoshenko in online services. Last week, Kyiv had already reported the recapture of 75 towns in the region.
Kherson was the first major Ukrainian city to be occupied by Russian forces after the Russian war of aggression began on February 24. In view of the advancing Ukrainian troops as part of the “counteroffensive” that has been going on for weeks, Russia began evacuating civilians and pro-Russian authorities from the region a few days ago. In the meantime, 15,000 people are said to have been brought to the left bank of the Dnipro, as Stremousow explained. Kyiv condemns the action as “deportation” of civilians to Russia.
