Escape across the Dnipro: Citizens must leave Kherson immediately

In view of the advance of the Ukrainian armed forces, the occupation administration in Kherson has asked all citizens to leave the city “immediately”. Due to the “threat of terrorist attacks” and the increasing risk of bombing, all civilians should immediately leave the city and cross over to the left bank of the Dnipro River, authorities said on Telegram.

Russia has already begun to withdraw from the western Kherson oblast. This was announced by the American think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW), based on information from Ukraine’s southern operations command. According to the report, Russian forces were “quite actively” moving ammunition, military equipment and some unspecified units by ferry from the western bank of the Dnipro River to the eastern bank.

The nearby Antonivskyi Bridge was so destroyed in July that it is no longer passable for heavy vehicles. Russia is said to have deployed 2,000 military forces to continue shelling Ukrainian units on the front lines — apparently to cover the retreat, the ISW said. On Wednesday, however, Russia announced that it would fight “to the death” over Kherson.

Also on Wednesday, the Russian-appointed head of government in Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, announced that he was preparing for a Ukrainian attack in the region and had begun evacuating the population to the eastern bank of the Dnipro or to Russia. According to the pro-Russian government, government structures and ministries have also been moved to the eastern bank. Still, the Russian side announced on Wednesday that it wanted to fight against Ukrainian forces in Kherson. Ukraine accused Russia of leading a “propaganda show” with the evacuation.

Russia completes temporary floating bridge

In order to better supply troops in Kherson, Russia has built a temporary floating bridge over Ukraine’s Dnipro River, according to the British. The bridge will serve as a replacement for the neighboring destroyed Antonivskyj Bridge, the UK Defense Ministry said in its daily briefing on Saturday, citing intelligence information. The river crossing is central to the supply of Russian troops in the occupied southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.

The British think it is the first time in decades that Moscow has opted for such a floating bridge for inland vessels. Such improvised solutions were most likely intended for operations in Europe during Soviet times. Moscow uses them to transport urgently needed supplies of materials and logistics across the river. Should the bridge be damaged, Russian troops would presumably try to repair it.

(t-online/csi/oli)