Things are not looking good for Putin’s troops. The Ukrainians are on the rise and are gradually retaking their homeland. The next target: the entire Kherson region. At the beginning of the war, the Russians had conquered land there.
Last month, Russia annexed the territories it had conquered. Now Putin’s troops are increasingly withdrawing from the region. Not only the soldiers are withdrawn, but also the Ukrainian civilians have to go.
“We’re pulling back”
“Our troops will probably withdraw to the left side of the river. All those who have not yet been able to leave Kherson should do so as soon as possible,” Deputy Chief Executive Kirill Stremousov said on Thursday.
According to the Russians, about 70,000 have already been evacuated. And there should be more. Ukraine’s foreign ministry in Kiev said on Thursday that the Russian occupation administration has begun to bring citizens from the Kherson region to the annexed Crimean peninsula or to Russia.
The Moscow-appointed governor of Kherson, Vladimir Saldo (66), justified this with the risk of “mass missile attacks” by the advancing Ukrainian army. Ukraine, on the other hand, interpreted this as a “deportation” of its citizens by Russia.
«Dilemma between military and political logic»
On Thursday, the Russian flag flying over the administrative building in the city of Kherson disappeared. A sign for the deduction? For Ukrainian journalist Natalia Humenyuk, this is more of a deception. “We should not rejoice too soon,” she said, according to the RBC-Ukraine news agency.
Because the Russians would not just give up without a fight, and certainly not the Kherson region. “These are certain provocations intended to give the impression that populated areas have been abandoned and that it is safe to enter.”
High symbolic importance
Putin’s troops were able to take the city right at the start of the war. A reconquest would also be of great symbolic importance for Ukraine.
Putin’s troops are trapped. “It’s a classic dilemma between military and political logic,” strategy expert Marcel Berni (34) of ETH Zurich’s Military Academy told Blick in mid-October. Militarily it is difficult to keep the occupied territories in Kherson. But Russia is under pressure. It’s about prestige.
Elite units are deployed in the area
In fact, Putin’s forces are apparently preparing for a major battle. It is still unclear whether there is actually fighting for the city of Kherson. But according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), despite Stremousov’s testimony, the Russians are establishing defensive positions northwest of the city and would also move more soldiers there. Includes elite airborne and naval infantry units. Retreat looks different.
The Russians are really preparing to leave the area as soon as possible, Kyrylo Budanov (36) of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in an interview with “Ukrayinska Pravda”. But probably only as a last resort to escape in an emergency. “The Russians give you the impression that all is lost. At the same time, they are setting up new military units and preparing the city’s streets for defense,” Budanov said.
Putin’s troops are afraid of being surrounded, like the Ukrainians in Mariupol. Ukrainian soldiers had been holed up in the Azov steel factory for weeks, trying to hold the position. In the end, they had to admit defeat. (yeah)