Experts say the looming battle over the city of Kherson will determine whether Ukraine can relax Russia’s grip on the south.
The head of Russia-annexed Crimea has announced the completion of civilian evacuations organized by Russian forces in the occupied Kherson region of southern Ukraine amid a counter-offensive by the Ukrainian army.
“Work on organizing residents leaving the left bank of the Dnieper [River] to safe regions of Russia is complete,” Sergei Aksyonov said via messaging app Telegram late Thursday after visiting the region with Kremlin Interior Minister Sergei Kiriyenko.
Russian-appointed authorities in Kherson have urged residents to move to the Dnieper’s right bank as Ukrainian forces advance to the south. The Ukrainian government compares this to Soviet “deportations” of their population.
“The crossroad [of the Dnieper] is empty!” said Aksyonov.
He posted photos of himself and other officers, including Kiriyenko, on a river bank.
On Wednesday, a Russian-installed official in Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, said at least 70,000 people had fled their homes in the region in a week.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army announced on Friday that Russia’s “so-called evacuation” would continue.
It added that the Russian command in Kherson was trying to “hide the actual losses of soldiers” to “avoid panic”.
Kherson is one of four partially occupied Ukrainian provinces that Russia is said to have annexed after its invasion of Ukraine in late February.
It includes the only land route to the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia conquered in 2014, and the Dnieper Estuary, a major economic artery bisecting Ukraine.
Officials and military analysts say the upcoming battle over the city of Kherson will determine whether Ukraine can ease Russia’s grip on the south, describing it as one of the most momentous since the war began.
Chechen fighters killed
In a sign that Russian forces are suffering heavy casualties, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said late Thursday that 23 of his fighters were killed and 58 others injured in fighting near Kherson this week.
“Earlier this week, one of the Chechen units in the Kherson region was shelled,” Kadyrov, who sent his militia to fight alongside the Russian army, said on Telegram.
The Kremlin ally rarely reveals defeats but admitted losses were “heavy that day”.
Russian forces have promised to turn Kherson into a “fortress” and not give up the city they took early in their offensive.
Aksyonov said he and Kiriyenko also visited the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – Europe’s largest nuclear facility – further north on the Dnieper in Russian-occupied territory.
He said they “met with staff and assessed the general situation around the facility.”
Ukraine accuses Russian forces of “kidnapping” employees at the plant and said last week about 50 employees were being held in “captivity”.
Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of shelling the facility, fueling fears of a nuclear disaster.