The city of Kherson, one of the largest cities in Ukraine, is the only one completely under Russian control. But it is also in which the most intense fights of the last few weeks are taking place. Located in the south-east of the country, on the banks of the Black Sea and the Dnieper River, its location is strategic.
In the last days the ruthless general Sergei Surovik toonew commander of the Kremlin’s “special military operation”, warned of increasing tension in the area due to the fact that all communication routes to the other bank of the Dnieper River have been damaged by Ukraine and this causes problems to logistics Russia for an orderly collection.
Russian troops are constantly under siege by Ukrainian forces, which is why they have started to evacuate the city, but keep their soldiers there. Russian troops deployed in the area “are of good quality”but I’m “in a dead end” then “Jersson could become a new Stalingrad” says retired sea captain Valentin Mateiu, a former member of Romanian military intelligence.
[El Cruel Currículum de Surovikin, el “Perro Sanguinario” de Putin en Ucrania: Ataques Químicos y Torturas]
The battle of Stalingrad, which pitted the Red Army against German forces during World War II, was the bloodiest in history. About two million people died, including soldiers from both sides and Soviet civilians. And it marked the beginning of the end of Hitler’s plans to take over the world. Something similar could happen to Putin, even if his plans, for now, are limited to Ukraine.
To try to end the loss of casualties they are suffering in their ranks, the pro-Russian authorities in Kherson announced the creation of territorial defense forces with which to stop the advance of the Ukrainian soldiers.
Russian soldiers in the Jershon region.
“For all men who want to stay in Kherson, despite the growing security threat due to the actions of Ukrainian nationalists, there is an opportunity to join the territorial defense units of the city,” the regional administration announced in its channel. Telegram, as collected Efe.
At the same time, the pro-Russians emphasized this it’s just about people who consciously decide to stay in the citysince everyone else can leave it “at any time”.
fight or retreat
The Ukrainian counter-offensive in Kherson, where Kiev continues to regain territory, has led Russia to face a dilemma: to fight for the newly annexed province through illegal referendums or, on the contrary, to withdraw.
According to Kiev and some Western analyzes, Russian troops have already begun to withdraw in parallel with the evacuation of civilians from the region. The movement began, according to his version, after Surovikin said Tuesday last week that the situation in Kherson was “difficult”.
[El riesgo de un ataque nuclear ‘táctico’ de Putin: de la crisis en Cuba en 1962 a Ucrania en 2022]
From the loss of Jerson, essential to the land corridor it managed to create from east to south and to the protection and water supply of the annexed Crimean peninsula, Russia would suffer one of the hardest blows since the war.
Mobilized to hold the front
The Ukrainian southern command believes that Russia will leave some 2,000 newly mobilized and poorly trained men in charge of the defense lines and continue to attack Ukrainian positions to cover the withdrawal of troops across the river.
Putin greets a Russian reservist in the Ryazan region of Russia.
Reuters
As all communication routes to the other side of the river were damaged by Ukraine, Russia has logistical problems for an orderly withdrawal. However, according to information managed by British intelligence, she managed to build a pontoon for barges near the Antonivka bridge which she loses.
Meanwhile, in the provincial capital, part of the Russian soldiers will stay in the city to prepare “urban battles”, according to the General Staff.
“The remaining Russian occupiers in the city dress up as civilians and move into abandoned apartments. The enemy is preparing Kherson for urban battles,” he said.
Russia continues with the evacuation
The Kremlin declined to comment on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a withdrawal from the region or not. The spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, referred to the Ministry of Defense, which is currently silent on his plans.
[Un millón de ucranianos se queda sin luz por los bombardeos mientras Rusia evacúa Jersón]
On the war front, the Ministry of Defenseled by Sergei Shoigu, However, he assures on a daily basis that he has repelled Ukrainian attacks in the province.
Military spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday that “the enemy attempted unsuccessfully to attack the positions of our troops with a reinforced motorized infantry battalion” in four cities in the region. “The enemy was forced to return to their initial positions. More than 90 Ukrainian soldiers, three tanks, eight armored combat vehicles were destroyed,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin with his Defense Minister Serguei Shoigu last August.
The pro-Russian authorities are also trying to show that everything is under control on the front. Ukraine, Deputy Governor of Kherson Kirl Stremossov said on Telegram, “tries to break through the defense line in small groups, but they are immediately destroyed by artillery fire”.
He also assured that the first line of defense “is already starting to prepare for winter”. “The front has stabilized. The line of contact continues to be reinforced with people, weapons and equipment,” he added.
[Despachos desde el frente: BHL, testigo directo de cómo “Ucrania se acerca a la victoria a su ritmo”]
Immediately, pro-Russians continue to ask civilians to leave the provinceafter that there are only about 25,000 left of the 60,000 that should have already done so this Tuesday.
After a civilian died this Sunday in an alleged Ukrainian “terrorist attack” in the regional capital, Stremoúsov strongly recommended that all residents leave the right-wing part of the region.
Kiev denounces the panic that Russia intends to spread among the population e ensures that his troops do not target civiliansunlike the Russian ones.
