The head of the Russian-controlled region of Kherson in southern Ukraine said Wednesday that pro-Kremlin officials were evacuating from the region’s main city but vowed Moscow’s forces would keep fighting.
“The entire administration is already moving today,” to the left bank of the Dnieper river, the region’s Moscow-installed head Vladimir Saldo, said on Russian state television.
He said the measure, along with the organised movement of civilians from the city, was a precaution and vowed that Russian forces would continue to fight against Ukraine.
“No one is going to hand over Kherson. But it is not ideal for residents to be in the city where hostilities will take place,” Saldo said.
He added that while there were no exact figures, up to 40 percent of civilians in the Kherson region were being moved to avoid fighting.
“No one is panicking. Everything is going well and being carried out in an organised manner,” he said.
Ukrainian forces launched a counter-offensive in August to reclaim swathes of the southern Kherson region and Kyiv’s forces have been clawing back territory en route to the region’s main city.
The city of Kherson and the surrounding region were captured by Russian forces at the beginning of the conflict in the spring.
“We’re expecting attacks. The Ukrainians are not hiding this. We have enough strength and capability to repel these attacks,” Saldo warned.
“The city will be completely held, but we need to keep civilians safe. Nobody is going to give away Kherson. The military will fight to the death,” he added.
Pro-Kremlin authorities in Kherson said earlier Wednesday they had begun moving civilians from its main city, as Ukrainian forces advance south.
Pro-Russian officials in the Ukraine town of Oleshky said residents from Kherson city — on the other side of the Dnieper river — were arriving while Russia’s Rossiya 24 TV showed images of people waiting to board ferries to cross the river.
Moscow-installed authorities in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region on Wednesday said they planned to evacuate some 50,000 civilians due to a Ukrainian counter-offensive.
