KYIV, UKRANE (AP) – In a sign that continued and sustained Ukrainian military gains along the southern front are troubling the Kremlin, Russia is promising free accommodation to residents of the partially occupied Kherson region who want to evacuate to Russia.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin made the announcement shortly after the Russian-backed leader of Kherson, one of four Ukrainian regions illegally annexed by Moscow last month, asked the Kremlin to evacuate four cities in the region. to organise.
“Cities in the Kherson region — Kherson and Nova Kakhovka, Hola Prystan and Chornobaivka — are subject to daily rocket attacks,” Vladimir Saldo said in a video posted online on Thursday. “These rocket attacks are causing serious damage, primarily to the residents. Among targets hit by missiles are hotels, residential buildings, markets – (places) where there are many civilians.”
Saldo said a decision has been made to evacuate Kherson residents to the Russian regions of Rostov, Krasnodar and Stavropol, as well as to annexed Crimea.
“I would like to ask you to help organize this process. We, residents of the Kherson region, of course know that Russia is not abandoning their own country, and Russia is always lending a hand,” said Saldo.
His plea comes as Ukrainian forces push their counteroffensive deeper into the southern Kherson region, albeit at a slower pace.
The move comes as the Ukrainian military continues to make gains in the south. Ukrainian forces have reported steady territorial gains along the southern front, including the recapture of 75 settlements in the Kherson region in the past month, the ministry for the reintegration of temporarily occupied territories said late Thursday night.
In the east, Ukrainian forces have recaptured 502 settlements in the Kharkov region, 43 in the Donetsk region and seven in the Luhansk region, the ministry said.
Balance’s deputy, Kirill Stremousov, in his own statement tried to downplay the announcement by saying that “no one is withdrawing … no one intends to leave the territory of the Kherson region.”
Earlier on Thursday, the British military said on Twitter that “the Russian occupation authorities have probably ordered preparations for the evacuation of some civilians from Kherson.”
“It is likely that they are anticipating a battle that extends to the city of Kherson itself,” the British Ministry of Defense said.
Early Friday, Russia continued its targeted attacks on critical infrastructure across Ukraine, a strategy that began Monday, when a massive, coordinated attack on nearly every region in the country was to be launched in retaliation for the explosion on a Moscow-funded bridge crossing the Soviet Union. Crimea connects to the Russian mainland.
Multiple Russian missile strikes shook the capital of the Zaphorizhzhia region overnight, while the city remained a focal point as Ukraine pushed through its counter-offensive on the southern front.
Zaporizhzhya’s regional governor, Oleksandr Starukh, said several explosions were reported in the city overnight at infrastructure facilities, causing a fire. There were no casualties in preliminary reports and further details on specific damage were not available. Russian forces have been hitting the regional capital and surrounding area continuously for the past few days and weeks, raising concerns about the safety of the nearby nuclear power plant.
The regional capital is about 160 kilometers from the plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Two days ago, it was forced to return to diesel generators to maintain its reactor cooling systems after an attack on a substation’s communications line was lost during fighting in the area.
Rocket, drone and missile strikes on Ukraine have kept the country on edge with airstrikes sirens becoming more frequent and a heightened sense of urgency after Monday’s strike, which left 19 dead and more than 100 injured, including many in the United States. capital Kyiv.
