With Ukraine's gains, Russia will assist with the evacuation of civilians from Kherson

As Kyiv continues to advance in its battle to recover the southern Ukrainian territory, Russia stated Thursday that its forces would assist in evacuating people of seized Kherson to other places. Marat Khusnullin, the deputy prime minister of Russia, made the announcement soon after Vladimir Saldo, the head of Kherson's Moscow-backed government, requested assistance from the Kremlin in evacuating residents. This was the latest sign that Russian forces were having difficulty fending off Ukrainian advances. In Kherson and other eastern regions of the nation, the Ukrainian military has been waging a counteroffensive to reclaim Russian-occupied territory and destroy vital infrastructure, including bridges and railroads. Saldo asserted that deadly warplanes were pounding Kherson's cities, one of the four regions of Ukraine that Russia asserts it illegally annexed. Saldo claimed that the local Russian authorities had "agreed to facilitate the possibility of Kherson households travelling to other regions of the Russian Federation." To protect themselves from the effects of missile strikes, all residents of the Kherson region are advised, if they so choose, to leave the area with their children. As Kyiv moves forward with its objective to retake some of the territory that Russia gained in the early days of the invasion, fighting in Kherson has been worse recently. At the end of the year, Kherson should be fully retaken, according to statements made by US and Ukrainian authorities last month. In Kherson, which had previously been under Russian control, Ukraine claimed last week that it had reclaimed 2,400 square kilometres (927 square miles). As the Ukrainian military advances further southwest, the government in Kyiv said on Wednesday that it had liberated five additional tiny, rural settlements. Saldo begged Russian superiors to assist local Russian-backed officials in relocating residents as Ukrainian forces advanced. Saldo remarked, "We, the Kherson region's citizens, of course know that Russia does not desert its own people. Although the civilian transportation were described as a "evacuation," Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the military administration for the Kherson region, disagreed. On the battlefield and in Moscow, Stremousov has been outspoken in his criticism of those in charge of making wartime decisions. He said last week that "incompetent commanders" who weren't held accountable for their errors were to liable for the military failures in Kherson. On Thursday, Stremousov emphasised that Saldo had just asked for assistance from the government in planning for people of the Kherson region to temporarily relax in other parts of the Russian Federation. We kindly request that the people of the Kherson region maintain their composure and avoid panicking. Russian forces won't be removed from the Kherson region, Stremousov declared. There is a chance to save lives here; this is not an evacuation.