Russian-appointed officials in the city of Kherson on Saturday ordered all citizens to evacuate as Ukrainian forces prepare for a major counteroffensive in the southern regions.
“All departments and ministries of Kherson civil and civil administration must cross over to the left bank of the Dnieper. [River]’ said Russian authorities in Kherson in a Telegram message.
The order was made “due to the tense situation at the front, the increased risk of a massive shelling of the city and the threat of a terrorist attack,” it added, referring to the approach of Ukrainian forces.
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The statement told civilians to bring their pets, valuables and documents as they flee what many believe will be the next major front in Ukraine’s fight to reclaim its territory.
Heavy fighting has been going on in the region for months, but there is a growing sense that the fighting there has reached a critical juncture as Ukrainian forces appear to drive occupying forces out of the region’s capital. ing.
The Russians were able to take Kherson without destroying it, and have held the city since 24 February.
But Ukraine’s advances and intelligence cutoffs in the region suggest Ukraine may be planning another major counterattack, like the key advances it made in Kharkov last month, and Russia of soldiers withdrew.
A Russian-based official in Kherson said this week that he planned to move 10,000 people a day across the Dnieper from Kherson, urging Russia to evacuate, Reuters reported.
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Ukrainian forces have targeted bridges, boulevards and supply routes that connect Russian forces in Kherson to key access points in eastern Ukraine and Crimea.
Russian General Sergey Slovikin said this week that the situation in Kherson was “already difficult” and that Russia “has not ruled out difficult decisions” there, Reuters reported.
Russia’s defense ministry said on Saturday it had repulsed counterattacks along its front lines in southern Ukraine, but Fox News Digital was unable to independently verify those claims.
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Russia declared the Kherson region its own territory last month after attempting to annex it.
Ukraine and its Western allies dismissed this as an illegal land grab.