Russia and Ukraine: Moscow is evacuating civilians in preparation for the Battle of Kherson

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin that 41,000 of those recalled had already been deployed to the battlefield in Ukraine. The numbers have not been independently verified.

The minister’s comments come amid growing public anger across Russia over the mobilization campaign.

Shortly after launching a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Putin pledged to send only those who have contracts with the military to fight in Ukraine. But in September he was forced to order a partial mobilization after a series of military defeats.

Kherson, in southern Ukraine, is one of the four regions of Ukraine annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, although Russia does not fully control any of them.

Kherson was captured shortly after the Russian invasion last February, but in recent weeks Ukrainian forces have recaptured lands on the west or right bank of the Dnipro River. Ukrainian officials said the first line was 30 km from the city.

Russian officials have warned of an attack on the regional capital in the near future. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov described the counterattack as really difficult due to the rough terrain and rainy weather making it difficult to use wheeled combat vehicles.

Sergei Aksyonov, who was installed by the Russian occupation authorities in Crimea, posted photos of the Dnipro river bank on Thursday evening, during the visit of Sergei Kirienko, a prominent figure in the Kremlin.

He said “the works to organize the evacuation of the residents have been completed”. Occupation authorities say they have been relocated to “safe areas of Russia”, which include other areas of Russia-controlled Ukraine and areas within Russia itself.

The deportation or transfer of civilians by the occupying power into or out of the occupied territories is a war crime.

Another Russian official acknowledged that many civilians remained in the city. Vladimir Saldo, who was installed by the Russians as governor of Kherson, said that between 150 and 170,000 people remained in and around the city, on the right bank of the Dnipro River. The pre-war population of the city alone was around 300,000.

A resident told the BBC last week that many remained and that Russian soldiers were concerned about how they would survive in Kherson.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, one of the war’s staunchest supporters, acknowledged that a Chechen unit had suffered “significant losses” in the region this week. He said 23 fighters were killed and 58 wounded in the Ukrainian artillery attack, but said his forces killed more Ukrainians.

Ukrainian regional leader in Kherson, Serhiy Khelan, said Kadyrov’s men had been replaced by recently called soldiers as part of Putin’s mobilization campaign across Russia. He said the fields around the regional capital have been mined and the new recruits are now serving as Russia’s first line of defense.

Before any battle for Kherson occurred, Ukrainian officials indicated that Russia had withdrawn the administration of its occupying power in the city of Hinchissk, some 200 kilometers to the southeast.

Ukrainian military spokesperson Natalia Homenyuk said the Russians were trying to cling to the right bank of the Dnipro, but the fact that they were preparing to defend the other side of the river as well is “a sign that they understand the real situation – which is unlikely they can keep the right bank. ” from the river. “