On Wednesday, as the Russian-appointed administration of Kherson prepared to flee the only regional capital Moscow had secured during its invasion, President Vladimir Putin issued an order directing the entire Russian Federation to help the military effort in Ukraine.
Russian state TV showed footage of people using boats to depart the important southern city, portraying the movement as an effort to remove residents before the area turned into a battleground.
In Kherson, one of four regions in Ukraine that Moscow has unilaterally seized and where Putin imposed martial law on Wednesday, the Russian-installed leader announced that 50,000–60,000 people will leave in the following six days.
Vladimir Saldo, the official, stated on state television that “the Ukrainian side is gearing up forces for a large-scale offensive.” “There is no place for civilians where the military operates.”
Of the annexations, Kherson is undoubtedly the most crucial from a strategic perspective. It controls both the only land access point to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014 and the mouth of the Dnipro, a river that bisects Ukraine over a distance of 2,200 kilometers (1,367 miles).
Saldo claimed that although Russia had the resources to retain the city and even launch a counterattack if required, personnel at Kherson’s Russian-supported government were also being transferred to the eastern bank of the Dnipro. Over the past few weeks, Russian forces in the vicinity of Kherson have been pushed back about 20–30 kilometers (13–20 miles).
Ukraine is pushing big counteroffensives in the east and south eight months after being invaded in an effort to seize as much ground as possible before winter.
In what Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of conducting as part of a campaign to scare residents in advance of the chilly winter, Russia has increased its missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s electricity and water infrastructure this week.
Between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. on Thursday, there will be a nationwide restriction on the supply of electricity, according to government officials and the grid operator Ukrenergo. A presidential advisor said on the Telegram messaging app that city street lights would be reduced and that there would be brief blackouts if electricity use was not reduced.
Even if it only applies to Thursday, Ukrenergo stated that “we do not exclude that with the advent of cold weather we will be asking for your cooperation even more regularly.”
In his video speech on Wednesday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that three energy facilities had been damaged by Russia in the previous 24 hours.
A significant thermal power plant in the western Ukrainian city of Burshtyn was struck by a Russian missile strike on Wednesday, according to the governor of the area.
Zelensky discussed security at power supply plants with senior officials. Zelensky has claimed that a third of his country’s power stations have been hit by Russian strikes.
Zelensky posted on Telegram, “We are striving to construct transportable power points for the essential infrastructure of cities, towns, and villages.”
Zelensky stated, “We are preparing for various possibilities.”
Putin increased the authority of Russia’s regional governors in a televised speech to his Security Council, and he also authorized the formation of a coordination council led by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to support his “special military operation.”
He stated that in order to support the Ukraine effort, the “entire system of state administration” must be adjusted.
Putin’s declaration of martial law was expected to result in substantially tighter security in Kherson and the other three regions, but it was unclear what else would happen right now.
However, Ukraine mocked the move because it, like the West, does not recognize Moscow’s purported annexations. Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential adviser, described it as “a pseudo-legalization of (the) robbery of Ukrainians’ property.”
He wrote, “This doesn’t alter a thing for Ukraine: we keep liberating and de-occupying our territories.
According to Vice President of the United States Joe Biden, Putin was in a precarious situation and his only option was to brutally assault Ukrainian civilians. Russia’s use of “desperate tactics,” according to the U.S. State Department, is not surprising.
On a stretch of the Kherson front in the Mykolaiv region on Wednesday, Ukrainian and Russian forces exchanged sporadic artillery fire, with the effects being identified by smoke towers.
Although they cautioned a visiting Reuters reporter about the threat posed by Russian drones, several Ukrainian soldiers claimed they were aware of the imposition of martial law but were unconcerned.
“Putin is undoubtedly up to no good. We recognize that” Yaroslav, who wished to remain anonymous, stated. But regardless of what they do, we will ruin them.
Oleh, who also hid his last name, claimed that Russia has previously issued warnings about activities it claimed Ukraine would do in an escalation only to carry them out itself.
He explained, “We are only worried about our people in the Kherson region.”
Although the conflict has resulted in hundreds of deaths, millions of displaced people, and the destruction of entire Ukrainian cities, Moscow denies purposefully targeting civilians.
The Kremlin reportedly erected a nuclear shield over the areas it claims to have annexed, along with other nuclear threats that, according to Britain’s chief of the military staff Tony Radakin, showed desperation.
In a speech, Radakin stated, “It is a symbol of weakness, which is precisely why the international community needs to remain strong and united.”
In reaction to rumors about the unexpected trip, a senior defense official revealed that British Defense Minister Ben Wallace met with his American counterpart this week in Washington to address their shared security concerns regarding the situation in Ukraine.
