The Russian-installed head of the occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson has appealed to Moscow for help in evacuating residents, signaling that Kyiv’s counteroffensive in the area may be picking up steam.
Ukrainian forces have pushed on the southern frontline in recent weeks, recapturing swaths of Kherson, a region Moscow has occupied since March and that it claimed to have annexed last month after staging a referendum regarded as a sham by Kyiv and its western partners
In a video shared on his social media channel on Thursday, Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-installed head of the Kherson region, asked the Kremlin to assist with evacuations.
“I am addressing the leadership of [Russia]. I’d like to ask you for help in organizing this,” he said, saying his government was recommending evacuation primarily to people living on the western side of the Dnipro river, where
Ukraine is gaining ground. But the offer was open to all residents, he said.
“We know that Russia doesn’t abandon its own,” he added, appearing to pass responsibility to Moscow. The phrase has been used widely by Russia, including on state TV, to back up one of the pretexts for its invasion of Ukraine the “protection” of Russian speakers there.
Kirill Stremousov, Saldo’s deputy in Kherson, released a video address soon after, denying that any evacuation had been offered or was taking place. But he said that “all possibilities for leaving the risk areas, where there is risk to life” in the Kherson region were being arranged.