Ukraine calls for evacuations from a Russian-controlled area, signaling a new offensive
Less than a month after driving Russian forces from the city of Kherson on the west bank of the Dnipro River, Ukrainian authorities on Saturday issued an urgent call for civilians to evacuate Russian-occupied areas on the eastern bank, suggesting that Kyiv’s military might press its offensive and try to establish a foothold across the waterway.
“The evacuation is necessary due to the possible intensification of hostilities in this area,” Yaroslav Yanushevych, the head of the Kherson regional military administration, in Ukraine’s south, said in an announcement to residents.
With all main river crossings having been destroyed, the only way to gain the western shore would be on private boats and other vessels, and it remains unclear how many people would be able to make it across the river or even try to.
A ban on river crossings is being lifted from Saturday to Monday to facilitate evacuations, Yanushevych said, noting that only one dock would be opened.
All those fleeing Russian-occupied territories must bring documents certifying their identity and confirming their Ukrainian citizenship, he said.
The public call for evacuations, while most likely intended to signal to Russia that an assault might be coming, could also be an element in the information war.
Before Ukraine launched its counteroffensive in the north this fall, officials issued several highly public warnings about a coming counteroffensive in the Kherson region. That did eventually happen, though well after Russia had suffered grievous losses in the north.
Ukrainian forces are pushing on into the winter after those two sweeping counteroffensives in the north-east and south.
They are also once again stepping up strikes on Russian supply routes, command centres and ammunition depots from new forward positions.
In an effort to staunch its losses and regain momentum in the war, the Russian military has been funneling newly drafted conscripts with little training and mostly inadequate equipment along the front lines in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington research group, said in a Friday assessment.
But as the ground hardens and fighting intensifies, Russia remains mostly on the defensive, and analysts said that the Russian-held area east of Kherson city and the Dnipro River was not well defended.