Russia has urged people in occupied Kherson to flee for their lives ahead
of an anticipated Ukrainian push to recapture the southern city.

Russian-installed officials in Ukraine’s south are trying to evacuate up
to 60,000 people living on the western bank of the Dnipro River.

Because of a sharp increase in the number of people wishing to leave the
city, authorities reported a shortage of vessels to ferry people across
the river at one point on Sunday.

“The situation today is difficult,” Russian Education Minister Sergey
Kravtsov said in a video message. “It’s vital to save your lives. It won’t
be for long. You will definitely return.”

Since Tuesday, about 25,000 people have been evacuated, the
Russian-installed deputy head of the region Kirill Stremousov said.

“We again recommend you to leave the city and the western bank of the
Dnipro,” Stremousov said in a video message published on Telegram. “We are
not going to give up Kherson.”

In September, Ukraine launched its counteroffensive to reclaim northern
Kherson.

The Kherson region is north of the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed
in 2014. It is strategically important for Russia forces because it is a
gateway for military supplies.

Kherson is one of four regions President Vladimir Putin illegally annexed
last month. On Thursday, he announced martial law in the regions as
Ukrainian forces continued their counterattacks.

Ukraine’s advance in recent weeks around Kherson and in the country’s
northeast have been met with intensifying Russian missile and drone
attacks on civilian infrastructure, which have destroyed about 40 percent
of Ukraine’s power system ahead of winter.

With the war about to start its ninth month and winter fast approaching,
the potential for misery looms.

More than one million people were without power, presidential adviser
Kyrylo Tymoshenko said. An official in Kyiv said the attacks could leave
Ukraine’s capital without power and heat for days or weeks.

The Institute for the Study of War, a think-tank in Washington, said on
Sunday that Russia’s latest strategy of targeting power plants appeared
aimed at diminishing Ukrainians’ will to fight and forcing the government
in Kyiv to devote more resources to protecting civilians and energy
infrastructure.

It said the effort was unlikely to damage Ukrainian morale, but would have
significant economic impacts.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/23/russia-urges-residents-to-save-your-lives-from-occupied-kherson