The Kremlin-imposed authorities in Kherson, southern Ukraine, are effectively abandoning the north-western part of the province and the city of the same name, the only capital held by Moscow troops. “Most likely, our units, our soldiers, will move to the other area of the Kherson region,” admitted the deputy head of the Russian military administration in the region Kirill Stremousov, referring to the east bank of the Dnieper. . While he was making these remarks on one of Russia’s prime-time propaganda channels, Solovyov Live, the Russian flag vanished from the regional administration building. However, a military spokeswoman for the Ukrainian army is skeptical about this information: she fears that the alleged Russian withdrawal could be a trap to lure Ukrainian forces, which have been advancing on Kherson in recent weeks, into a trap.
Stremousov, a Kremlin collaborator and wanted by Kyiv for treason, reiterated his plea for Ukrainian citizens to voluntarily leave the provincial capital, which had a population of around 290,000 before the war and has been in Moscow since the first few weeks which began in February Offensive. “Those who did not have time to move should leave as soon as possible,” Stremousov said. If not forever, authorities have announced an eviction starting next Sunday, November 6th.
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The withdrawal of the Ukrainians from Kherson, with almost no resistance to the invader, was one of the worst defeats of the Kiev forces at the beginning of the war. And it also prevented Ukraine from reaching much of its Black Sea coast, making its recovery a key objective of the counteroffensive launched by Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government in the Russian-held south and east. The lack of preparation for a surprise offensive and the cooperation of the local authorities with the invader opened the doors for the Russians in the first weeks of the offensive. Last September, this province was illegally annexed by Russia along with part of Zaporizhia province, as well as those of Donetsk and Lugansk.
Stremousov also posted several videos on his personal Telegram channel, repeating the message. In one of them, captured in the middle of the street and in a shop, dozens of Ukrainian residents were seen living normal lives while the politician complained that they had not left their homes because of the impending arrival of the Ukrainian army evacuation of residents of the Kherson region began already in the last weeks of October. “People are staying in Kherson,” he lamented, while reassuring, in line with Russian propaganda, that “with American help, the Nazis will not stop bombing the city’s civilian infrastructure.” Local residents captured on video did not appear to care about these alarming proclamations.
In another of his recordings, Stremousov appears in a car full of rubbish. In this speech, he assures that “everything is fine in Kherson” and “life goes on”, although he concedes that attempts to breach Russian defenses in the Ukrainian province annexed by Moscow “do not stop”.
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On the other hand, the Russian authorities have banned the passage of vehicles from the south-east bank to the north-east, although they allow them to leave the city in the opposite direction and ensure that “the temporary suspension of communications does not affect the transport of food and essential goods”.
Head office relocation
After removing the Russian flag from both the regional administration building and the Ushakov Maritime Academy, Russian authorities told the Ura newspaper that the administrative headquarters had been moved to the town of Genichesk, ten kilometers to the south-east, very close to the border with the Crimean peninsula , which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
The war correspondent for the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, Alexander Kots, was in Kherson and released a video showing the Russian tricolor hanging on other public buildings such as the city hall and several schools. In the picture uploaded to Telegram by the governor of Kherson Gennady Laguta, the building of the regional administration appears without the Russian flag.
Natalia Humenyuk, head of the Ukrainian army’s press center, assured Portal on Thursday that removing the Russian flag from the administrative building in that city could be a Russian trap to lure Ukrainian troops into a reckless advance as they prepare for street fighting.” in Kherson.
Ukraine has so far been skeptical about a possible Russian withdrawal from the city. Kyiv is keeping a tight secret about the progress of its troops, although a week ago it was estimated that Ukrainian forces were only 12 kilometers from the city. Kirilo Budanov, Ukraine’s defense ministry intelligence chief, then confirmed that the goal was to capture Kherson before the end of the year, and defined it as an “illusion” to think of a Russian withdrawal without fighting. The Russians, he said, “are moving up with new units and preparing to defend the streets of Kherson.”
The restoration of the capital of the Kherson province is not only of great symbolic importance, but also of strategic importance. Not only because of its access to the Black Sea, but also because this city is considered essential for preparing a future offensive on Crimea and the provinces of Donetsk and Zaporizhia. The city and its province are also essential for supplying arms to Russian troops from Crimea. If Ukraine reconquers the province, the peninsula, which has been in Russian hands since 2014, will no longer be supplied with water and electricity from the Dnieper.
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