Russia urges more departures from Kherson and accuses the West of escalating the war

Russia increases attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, while urging the population of occupied Kherson to flee.

While they are under pressure from the Ukrainian forces advancing in the direction of that strategic province in the south of the country, the authorities imposed by the Kremlin there urged this Sunday, October 23, all the inhabitants to leave the area as soon as possible.

“The current situation is difficult. It is vital to save their lives,” Russian Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov said in a video message.

Although in the last week, Moscow has called on the population to “evacuate” and go to Russia or to the annexed province of Crimea, this weekend the pro-Russian call was made with greater urgency given the approach of the local Army, which is developing a counteroffensive to regain control of their territories, seized after the invasion ordered by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, on February 24.

More residents of the capital of the same name packed their belongings in recent hours and boarded boats and school buses to leave the city.

“Of course we fear for our lives (…) But I think everything will be fine. Jersón will resist,” said Vera, a 44-year-old woman, who did not give her last name.

Around 25,000 people have left Kherson since last Tuesday, October 18, said the Kremlin-installed deputy head of the region, Kirill Stremousov.

Moscow said this week that it expected to remove between 50,000 and 60,000 people from the town, a move it refers to as “evacuations” but is refuted by kyiv. Ukraine calls them “deportations” and forced departures, for which it asks citizens not to heed the call of the pro-Russians.

“We recommend you again to leave the city and the western bank of the Dnipro (river),” Stremousov said, referring to the river current by which the population has been moved.

“We will not give up Kherson”

Despite warnings to flee the town, Kremlin-backed officials insisted any relocation would be temporary.

“It won’t be for long. They will definitely come back,” Kravtsov promised in his statement.

However, military analysts point out that behind the urgent call of the occupationist troops to leave the zone would be the signal that they would not have the capacity to defend a region that they now assure belongs to them.

The Putin government promoted the holding of questionable referendums last September, in which it annexed four Ukrainian regions totally or partially occupied by its military: Donetsk and Lugansk, in the east, and Zaporizhia and Kherson, in the south.

kyiv and the West describe these plebiscites as “false” and denounce that they took place under coercion of the inhabitants. Statement rejected by Moscow.

“We are not going to give up Kherson,” Stremousov warned.

The official added that the explosion of an improvised device killed one person and injured another on Sunday. That information has not been independently verified.

Russian troops have withdrawn from parts of the battlefront in recent weeks and some experts do not rule out that they will do the same in Kherson, which on March 3 became the first major city to fall to the Russians.

An eventual withdrawal from there would represent a huge defeat for Putin’s mission which, amid the setbacks of his troops, reinforces his nuclear threat. Warning also seen by analysts as an action that denotes despair.

Russian Army Steps Up Attacks on Ukraine’s Crucial Energy Infrastructure

While under pressure from Ukrainian forces, soldiers responding to the Putin Administration launched another avalanche of drone strikes, targeting electrical and hydraulic installations, across Ukraine on October 23.

A Russian missile attack destroyed the top floor of an apartment block in Mikolaiv, in the south. An assault that hit a square and several neighboring buildings, broke windows and cracked walls.

Nearby cars were crushed under the rubble. No fatalities were confirmed.

“After the first explosion, I tried to get out, but the door was stuck. After a minute or two, there was a second loud explosion. Our door flew into the corridor,” described Oleksandr Mezinov, 50, who was woken up by fire blasts.

Mykolaiv, in the hands of the Ukrainian authorities, is approximately 35 kilometers northwest of the front line towards occupied Kherson.

The regional governor, the Ukrainian Vitaliy Kim, reported that the Army of his country shot down 14 Russian “kamikaze” drones over Mikoláiv during the night.

The drones are designed to explode on impact and have so far severely damaged around 40% of the country’s power system.

UK rejects Russian accusation that the West facilitates a plan to escalate the conflict

British Defense Minister Ben Wallace rejected claims made by his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu, who assured him in a call on Sunday that Western countries were facilitating a plan by kyiv to escalate the conflict.

“The Defense Secretary refuted these claims and warned that such allegations should not be used as a pretext for further escalation,” the British Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

Moscow widely criticizes the fact that the United States and Europe support the attacked nation with weapons and military vehicles. A decision made by the West to help kyiv without having to intervene directly on the ground, after explaining that doing so would trigger an even greater conflict.

Shoigu, who has been blamed by some Russian nationalists for his country’s troop setbacks, also discussed the “rapidly deteriorating situation” in calls with his French and Turkish counterparts.

Without providing evidence, Shoigu claimed that kyiv could escalate the war with a “dirty bomb”: conventional explosives mixed with radioactive material.

However, Ukraine does not possess nuclear weapons, while Russia has said it could protect Russian territory with its nuclear arsenal.

With Reuters and local media