As a tacit admission that yet another painful battlefield setback may be in store for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian soldiers began mass evacuations of citizens from one of the first significant cities they captured in the invasion of Ukraine on Wednesday.
Kherson, a southern metropolis of more than 250,000 people with industry and a significant port on the Dnieper River, appears to be in the path of Ukraine’s dramatic counteroffensive. As winter approaches and the front lines are potentially frozen until the spring thaw, the battle for the city is crucial for both Russia and Ukraine.
Russia issued a martial law order on Wednesday in four Ukrainian districts
Putin issued a martial law order on Wednesday in four Ukrainian districts that Russia has either full or partial authority over and has unlawfully seized in recent weeks, which could be another indication that his invasion is not going as planned. One of them is the area around Kherson with the same name.
In recent days, there had been a trickle of people leaving the city, but now there was a deluge. On Russian official media, people could be seen swarming the banks of the Dnieper, many with young children, in order to board boats and travel further into Russian-controlled territory.
According to Russian official media, text messages informed locals that buses were being readied for their departure and warned them to expect to shell. In leaflets, it was said that evacuees could bring the weight of two large pieces of luggage, together with some food and medicine, for a few days.
Authorities who are supported by Moscow have stated that evacuations are voluntary
Authorities who are supported by Moscow have stated that evacuations from seized territory are voluntary. The only escape routes, however, are frequently through Russia.
“It’s better to evacuate people in case the fighting starts to involve artillery shelling and bombing of the city, and that’s what we are doing now,” said Vladimir Saldo, the region’s Moscow-installed head.
Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential office, called the evacuation “a propaganda show” and said Russia’s claims that Kyiv’s forces might shell Kherson were “a rather primitive tactic, given that the Armed Forces do not fire at Ukrainian cities.”
Russian fortifications on the river’s west bank have been retreated by Ukrainian forces in recent weeks, and the area’s Moscow-installed rulers now seem to be expecting that the Dnieper’s huge, deep waters will function as a natural deterrent against those forces coming.
