Nfter the recapture of the southern Ukrainian regional capital Kherson, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj announced the liberation of other areas currently occupied by Russia. “We don’t forget anyone, we won’t leave anyone behind,” Zelenskyj said in his daily video speech on Saturday evening. Meanwhile, Ukrainian police officers and representatives of the military administration returned to Cherson.
The Russian occupiers, who have retreated to the south-east side of the Dnipro River, announced the evacuation of the town of Nowa Kakhovka – which raises concerns about a possible act of sabotage at the hydroelectric power station there. Meanwhile, the Kremlin informed about a telephone call between President Vladimir Putin and the Iranian head of state Ebrahim Raisi.
Ukrainian police and authorities back in liberated city of Kherson
A few days after the withdrawal of Russian troops, representatives of the Ukrainian regional administration and security bodies returned to the liberated city of Kherson in the south of the country. For example, the police and secret service have already resumed their work in Kherson, said Governor Yaroslav Yanushevych in a video that showed him in the center of the regional capital. One of the main tasks at the moment is to clear the region of mines, according to Januschewych.
Russia had largely conquered the Cherson region shortly after the start of its war of aggression at the end of February and in September annexed it in violation of international law, along with the Zaporizhia, Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Under pressure from Ukrainian counter-offensives, Moscow has withdrawn its troops from all parts of Cherson north-west of the Dnipro River in the past few days, including the regional capital of the same name, Cherson.
Russian occupiers evacuate the Ukrainian dam town of Nowa Kakhovka
On the other side of the Dnipro, the Russian occupiers have meanwhile announced the evacuation of the dam town of Nowa Kakhovka. The administration of Kakhovka is withdrawing to a safe place together with the citizens of the city, local crew chief Pavel Filipchuk said, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.
It is feared that the dam could be destroyed by shelling and the area could be flooded. For weeks, Russians and Ukrainians have been accusing each other of planning such a provocation. Ukrainian forces have identified the Kakhovka administration as the “number one target for a terrorist attack” in the region, Filipchuk claimed. Ukraine rejects intentions of sabotage.