People who had to leave their homes in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson for safety after a Moscow-appointed official told them to do so were set to arrive in Russia on Friday. This shows that Moscow is losing control of the territory it claims to have annexed.
“We suggested that all residents of the Kherson region, if they wish, to protect themselves from the consequences of missile strikes… go to other regions,” Russian-installed Kherson administration chief Vladimir Saldo said in a video message. People should “leave with their children”.
According to him, the offer was mostly for inhabitants on the Dnipro River’s west bank. This includes the regional capital, the only major Ukrainian city Russia has successfully occupied since its February invasion.
The first citizens evacuating Kherson were expected to arrive in Russia’s Rostov area on Friday, according to the TASS news agency.
Kherson is one of four partially occupied Ukrainian provinces claimed by Russia in recent weeks, and it is likely the most strategically vital. It controls the only land approach to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia invaded in 2014, as well as the mouth of the Dnipro, a 2,200-kilometer (1,367-mile) river that cuts Ukraine in half.
Ukrainian soldiers have broken through Russia’s front lines in the south for the first time since the war began in early October. They have since made quick progress along the west bank, trying to cut Russian forces off from supply lines and escape routes.
According to TASS, the governor of Rostov, which borders on the Ukrainian territory Russia claims to have annexed, said his province was ready to house anyone who wished to leave Kherson.
According to the administration, Ukraine’s military forces have retaken over 600 communities in the last month, including 75 in the crucial Kherson area.
