General Sergei Surovikin said on Wednesday that Russian forces are in an “uneasy” situation in the southern city of Kherson, and will require safe evacuation of the residents.
“The Russian army will above all ensure the safe evacuation of the population” of Kherson, he said.
Kherson was the first to fall to the Russians in February during the onset of the war.
According to the BBC, Russian-installed regional official Kirill Stremousov warned Kherson residents that “in the very near future” Ukrainian troops would launch an assault on the city.
“Please take my words seriously – I’m talking about evacuating as quickly as possible,” he said on the Telegram messaging service, adding that people on the River Dnieper’s west bank (called Dnipro in Ukraine) were most at risk.
This was confirmed by Russian regional governor Vladimir Saldo.
Civilians and Russian-appointed officials are being moved out of the region ahead of a Ukrainian offensive, the Russia-installed local leader said.
“As a whole the situation in the special military operation zone can be described as tense,” Russia’s General Surovikin said.
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