updates
Occupiers begin evacuations
Moscow: Ukraine begins attack on Kherson – Kyiv: “propaganda show”
10/19/2022, 12:50 p.m
Ukraine is apparently preparing a major operation around Cherson in the south of the country. According to Russian sources, Kyiv has massed tens of thousands of soldiers in the region. According to their own statements, the occupiers are beginning to withdraw – but call it something else.
The Ukrainian army has gathered tens of thousands of soldiers to liberate the occupied Cherson region in the south of the country, according to Russian sources. At noon it was said that the Ukrainian armed forces had started counterattacks. The Ukrainians went on the offensive in the direction of Nova Kamianka and Beryslav, wrote the deputy head of the Kherson occupation administration, Kirill Stremusov, on his Telegram channel. So far, however, all attacks have been repelled. Initially, there was no information from the Ukrainian side. Kyiv only said in the morning that it had shot down a Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter in the Cherson region.
Meanwhile, Ukraine accused Russia of staging a “propaganda show” with evacuations and warnings of an attack on the occupied city of Kherson. Presidential chief Andriy Yermak spoke of fake news with which Russia wanted to scare the residents. “The Russians are trying to intimidate the residents of Kherson with fake news about the shelling of the city by our army and are also staging a propaganda show with evacuations,” he wrote on the short message service Telegram. “Propaganda will not work.”
Occupiers withdraw administration
In the morning, the occupiers said they had started clearing the city and evacuating civilians in the face of the advancing Ukrainian troops. Residents of Kherson will be transferred from the right to the left bank of the Dnipro, the pro-Russian administration of the city of Oleshky announced on the Internet. Russian state media showed pictures of people being taken across the river by ferries. In addition, civilians are denied access to the Kherson region for seven days.
According to their own statements, the administration of the occupiers themselves also began to withdraw completely. Administration chief Vladimir Saldo told the Russian broadcaster Rossiya 24: “As of today, all government structures in the city, the civil and military administration, all ministries, will be relocated to the left bank of the river (the Dnipro)”. However, the Russian army will fight “to the death” in the city against the advancing Ukrainian troops.
Saldo had announced the evacuation of civilians. Saldo had spoken of “about 50,000 to 60,000” people who were to be taken to the left bank or to Russia. This will take about six days. Boats are already waiting, said Saldo. According to the agency TASS, the residents of the area have already been informed of the plans by SMS. Before the war almost 300,000 people lived in the city.
Commander-in-Chief: Situation is difficult
According to Russian information, the attempt by the Ukrainian armed forces to recapture the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has failed for the time being. “The fight lasted several hours, at least three to three and a half hours,” the state news agency RIA quoted Russian official Vladimir Rogov as saying. The Russian troops repelled the attack.
In March – i.e. shortly after the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against the neighboring country – Cherson fell into Russian hands as the only Ukrainian regional capital. President Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of the region to Russia in October. Internationally, the illegal annexation is not recognized. The Russian soldiers on the right bank of the Dnipro are largely cut off.
The new commander-in-chief of the Russian troops in Ukraine, Sergei Surovikin, had described the situation in the front section as difficult the previous evening. Ukraine is shelling houses and infrastructure in Kherson. Artillery hits made the crossings over the Dnipro River impassable. That complicates the supply. “We will act carefully and in good time, and we will not rule out difficult decisions,” said Surovikin. This was taken as an indication of a possible withdrawal.