Russian President Vladimir Putin urged residents in Kherson, Ukraine, to be evacuated from the conflict zone, which is now the primary front-line battleground to watch.
The Kherson region has been under Russian control since shortly after the invasion began in late February and is considered a strategically important location considering it controls the land and water supply to Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Russian forces view the city as a gateway to the rest of the Black Sea coastline, including major port cities that power the Ukrainian national economy.
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“Now it is, of course, necessary to relocate those who live in Kherson from the most dangerous zone because civilians should not suffer from bombardments, from some offensive, counter-offensive and other measures related to military activities,” he said on Friday, according to Russian state media TASS.
Some Russian forces have withdrawn from the northwestern part of Kherson, though it remains unclear if they will fight for Kherson City. The deputy head of the occupation, Kirill Stremousov, said on Thursday that Russian forces “will most likely leave for the eastern bank” of the Dnipro River, according to the latest update from the Institute for the Study of War.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently expressed doubts that Putin would authorize such a withdrawal. “They are not actually ready to leave the region yet, even if they risk being surrounded by our troops,” he said, according to an unofficial translation of an interview with Italy’s Corriere Della Sera. “Russians keep their best units in place.”
“As a feature, the evacuation of the civilian population from certain settlements of the left-bank part of the Kherson oblast was noted,” the Ukrainian General Staff added in another update this week. “According to the available information, since October 31 of the current year, the removal of collaborators with their families, medical personnel and equipment from the central district hospital has started from the settlement of Hornostaivka.”
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin noted on Thursday that he “certainly believe[s] that [the Ukrainians] have the capability” to retake Kherson.
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“We’ve seen them engage in a very methodical but effective effort to take back their sovereign territory,” he told reporters during a press conference. “I think you’ll see them continue to press until they secure the territory on the west side of the river. So, to answer your question, I do think they have the capability.”
