The battle for Kherson looms; US pushes for talks, but kyiv rules them out

The future of Kherson is likely to be decided in the coming weeks in a series of bloody battles.

Ukrainian forces are approaching the city in southern Ukraine determined to retake the country’s first capital taken by the Russians, last March, in the first days of the war.

As it approaches, the Army of the invaded country strikes with air strikes. In a statement, kyiv said it launched bombing raids on a Russian anti-aircraft installation and ammunition depot in the Beryslav district, where at least 30 Russians were killed.

The invading troops are outnumbered by thousands of Ukrainian soldiers, the pro-Russian authorities installed by the Kremlin in the region admitted on November 8.

“Thousands of ‘Ukrainian Nazis’ and citizens of Ukraine who were forcibly driven to the trenches remain on the outskirts of the region,” said Moscow-imposed deputy governor Kiril Stremoúsov, referring to the Ukrainian military and volunteers fighting in Kherson. .

However, Natalia Humeniuk, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Army, said over the weekend that “the Russians are trying to create the illusion of not being there to lure Ukrainian forces into nearby settlements.”

While the Ukrainian Army approaches the Russian contingent, the Kremlin soldiers entrench themselves and loot the city.

Ukrainian authorities accuse Russian troops of stripping the homes of residents who were forced to leave the area to occupy them with plainclothes soldiers and prepare for combat. Confrontations that the two parties foresee as the most important registered so far in the conflict.

“Disguised in civilian clothes, they occupy civilian facilities and strengthen positions inside to carry out street battles,” Ukraine’s military institution said.

kyiv also denounces that the men sent by President Vladimir Putin are stealing and transporting ambulances, tractors and private cars to Russian territory.

Objects of great cultural and historical value are also looted: archives, paintings and sculptures from art museums. Even the bones of Empress Catherine the Great’s friend and lover, the statesman Grigory Potemkin, were removed from a crypt in St. Catherine’s Cathedral.

The loot is transported by the Russians across the Dnieper River, to the left bank of the Kherson region.

Moscow has not yet ruled on these accusations and urges the departure of the civilians who remain in the city.

Russia offers 1,600 euros to inhabitants of Kherson to leave the region

Stremousov promised a one-time payment of 100,000 rubles, about 1,600 euros, for “every evacuated resident” who leaves and resettles in Russia.

“Most of the residents who did not leave Kherson only now began to realize the seriousness of the situation and my warnings. Upon reaching the left bank, residents of the right bank part of Kherson will be picked up by buses and transported to Crimea, where volunteers will meet people, and then the evacuees will go to other regions of the Russian Federation,” the governor said. regional installed by the Government of Putin.

In a message broadcast on Telegram, the pro-Russian official added that the inhabitants of Kherson will have temporary accommodation points and will receive a “housing certificate”.

In recent weeks, Russia has ordered civilians to leave the area, in anticipation of the Ukrainian operation to retake the city. However, kyiv assures that it is “mass deportations” and asks residents to ignore the calls of the Russians.

Kherson, with a population of around 300,000 before the war, is now desolate, amid blackouts and low temperatures following power and water outages in recent days, both sides have described.

On Tuesday, Moscow said power was restored, after “sabotage” it accuses kyiv of, while Ukrainian officials say the Russians dismantled 1.5 kilometers of power lines.

The US promotes talks with Russia and kyiv rules them out

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed that the White House is holding talks with top Russian officials to push through possible talks between kyiv and Moscow.

Washington said it seeks to avoid the possibility of a “nuclear catastrophe.”

“We have done it when it has been necessary to clear up possible misunderstandings and try to reduce the risk and possibility of catastrophes such as the potential use of nuclear weapons,” Sullivan said, in a discussion at the Economic Club of New York.

However, this Tuesday, November 8, the Government of Volodímir Zelenski ruled out a dialogue with the Kremlin.

The presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podalyak, confirmed that this option will not be on the table until Russian troops leave all of its territory, including the province of Crimea, annexed by Putin in 2014.

In addition, the Ukrainian authorities denied that they face pressure to negotiate with Moscow.

With Reuters and local media