Russia ‘forcibly evacuating’ Kherson: Ukrainian officials

Russian troops are “forcibly evacuating” civilians from the key city of Kherson, Ukrainian authorities have claimed — seeming to suggest that Moscow may be pulling back its troops ahead of a highly anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive.

“I have information that the evacuation starts today [Sunday] with an excuse of protecting civilians from the consequences of heavy fighting in the area,” said Oleksandr Samoylenko, the Ukrainian head of Kherson’s regional council.

According to Samoylenko, Russian troops were “trying to steal as much as they can” as they retreated from the region this weekend, the Guardian reported.

Russian forces drew back from Kherson in November, and have regularly launched attacks on the city from across the Dnipro River ever since.

Another Ukrainian official in Kherson, Serhiy Khlan, indicated that Russian forces were looking to gain control of civilians in the region.

Over the weekend, Wagner Group mercenary fighters were helping Russian occupation officials gain control of the civilian population near the east bank of the Dnipro River, Khlan said.

While Ukraine’s assertion cannot be verified, it comes within a day of reports that Ukrainian forces have established a foothold on the east bank of the Dnipro, southwest of Kherson.

An Institute for the Study of War report released Saturday found that Ukraine’s positioning in the region could indicate a “lack of Russian control over the area.”

The report, which analyzed footage from pro-Kremlin military bloggers, shows Ukrainian troops have been stationed near the town of Oleshky, where they have established “stable supply lines.”

For the first time, the ISW says it has “observed reliable geolocated imagery of Ukrainian positions on the east bank along with multi-sourced Russian reports of an enduring Ukrainian presence there.”

The apparent increase in Ukraine’s military activity in the south of the country has raised speculation about Kyiv’s springtime counterattack.

Natalia Humeniuk, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s Operational Command South, said details of military operations in the Dnieper delta could not be disclosed for security reasons.

The Kremlin-installed head of the Kherson region denied the reports that Ukrainian forces have established a foothold on the east bank of the Dnieper in an update shared to Telegram Sunday.

Vladimir Saldo insisted Russian troops are “in full control” of the region before suggesting the images reference in the ISW report may have been Ukrainian sabotage units that “managed to take a selfie” across the Dnieper before being forced back.

Ukrainian commanders have long indicated that once the weather improves and troops are ready, they will attempt to remove Russian forces from the south.

In recent months, Kyiv has collected a massive arsenal of tanks and other weapons from Western allies in preparation for the offensive.