Ukraine says Russian troops forcibly evacuate civilians in Kherson region

This is reported by The Guardian. 

“I have information that the evacuation starts today [Sunday] with an excuse of protecting civilians from the consequences of heavy fighting in the area,” Oleksandr Samoylenko, the head of the Kherson Regional Council, said. 

The claim comes amid the apparent surge in Ukrainian military activity in the country's south, which some experts have interpreted as a possible forerunner to Kyiv's long-awaited counteroffensive.

Another Ukrainian official in Kherson, Serhii Khlan, alleged over the weekend that Wagner mercenaries were assisting Russian officials in imposing control over the civilian population on Dnipro's east bank.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's southern military command reported four Russian Su-35 fighter jets carrying out raids in the Kherson region. Ukraine stated guided bombs were used to target structures, but did not indicate where the strikes occurred.

Since Sunday's report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based think tank, suggesting Ukrainian forces had established positions on the east bank of the Dnipro, opposite Kherson, in the area of a settlement called Dachy, attention has been focused on Ukraine's southern front around the key city of Kherson. The ISW made the statement after tracking down information from Russian sources.

The conclusion was reached after analysts at the think tank examined text conversations and images uploaded by 'Russian military bloggers.'

According to the ISW, Russian forces may no longer control islands in the Kinka and Chaika rivers, fewer than 500 meters north of Dachy.

Months of low-level warfare in the Dnipro delta and along the Kinburn Spit have resulted in apparent Ukrainian advance. In often-unreported battles over the little islands that dot the river mouth and surrounding marshes, both sides have sent crews in rigid inflatable boats.

The few reports on the delta that have surfaced since the beginning of the year have presented a picture of bitter warfare for small, mostly uninhabited islands, some of which have changed hands numerous times. With artillery strikes from both sides threatening the islands and the river, Russian and Ukrainian forces have lost boats in the conflict.

The Ukrainian military has urged for 'patience' in response to reports of an upcoming offensive. Under the prospect of Russian strikes, a large-scale push across the vast river would be a massive and arduous effort.

“The conditions of a military operation require silence until it is safe enough for our military,” a Ukrainian military spokesperson said, adding she could not confirm or deny the ISW’s report.

The reports of a possible Ukrainian advance in the south come roughly six months after Ukraine liberated Kherson and the Dnipro west bank in November 2022.

According to the most recent ISW update, Kherson may be Russia's most vulnerable area along the entire frontline.

“The Russian grouping in the Kherson region is likely the most disorganized and undermanned in the entire theater, highly likely mainly composed of badly under-strength remnants of mainly mobilized units,” the think tank said.

Russian authorities said they had thwarted a drone attack on the port of Sevastopol in Moscow-annexed Crimea, stressing that there was no damage or injuries.

It also came when recordings leaked of the Wagner mercenary group's leader threatening to kill Ukrainian POWs. Yevgeny Prigozhin was responding to a Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel posting a claimed recording of two Ukrainians planning to shoot a Russian POW.

The channel does not specify where the recording originated from, and there is no way to verify its validity.

“We will kill everyone on the battlefield. Take no more prisoners of war!” Prigozhin said.