Russia Starts the Evacuation From Kherson

According to the local leader established by Russia, they began the evacuation of tens of thousands of citizens and Russian-appointed officials from the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson ahead of an invasion by Ukraine. Vladimir Saldo stated that they are planning an "organized, gradual displacement" of 50–60,000 residents from four towns on the west bank of the Dnieper river. All Russian-appointed departments in Kherson city would cross the river as well. Additionally, in Russian TV footage, we can see several people assembling close to the Dnieper. However, it was unclear how many were departing as they stood in line for boats. In addition, the transfer or deportation of civilians from occupied territory by an occupying power is considered a war crime. Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential adviser for Ukraine, noted that Russia only recently performed a ceremony to annex Kherson stating, "Reality can hurt if you live in a fictional fantasy world." Gen Sergei Surovikin, Russia's new military commander in Ukraine, stated late on Monday that the situation in Kherson city, the regional capital, was challenging. Furthermore, a Russian-installed official named Kirill Stremousov warned residents of Kherson that Ukrainian forces would attack the city "in the very near future." He added, "No one is going to retreat but we also want to save your life. Please move as quickly as possible to the left bank." What's more No one was about to surrender, Mr. Saldo, the region's newly appointed governor, told Russian television. But, he continued, the evacuation of Kherson is necessary as it was "undesirable" for citizens to stay in a city under attack. He was cited as saying, "In the past two days, more than 5,000 people have left Kherson." On another note, Kherson's exiled deputy mayor claimed earlier this month that just 100,000 of the 320,000 people who lived there before the war were still living there, with many of them having fled Russia's rule. Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol, claimed that Russian officials were forcibly deporting and evicting Kherson's population so that Russia could settle the city with "soldiers and traitors." On the other hand, Ukraine reported that Russian officials forcibly deported 2.5 million individuals to Russia last month. In other news, the newly appointed Russian governor accused Ukraine was preparing for a major offensive and had plans to breach the Kakhovka dam on the Dnieper River, drowning the region. When Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February, Kherson was the first sizable city to fall. The Ukrainian military, meanwhile,  recently reclaimed land in the area's north and is currently as far as 30 kilometers (19 miles) south along the Dnieper, threatening to trap Russian forces. Lastly, the Kremlin declared last month that Kherson and three other Ukrainian areas were now a part of Russia, a claim rebuffed globally.