In its daily update of developments in Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defense said in tweets on its Twitter account that Russia has sought, since its capture of Kherson in early March, to legitimize its control over the city and its surroundings through the establishment of a pro-Russian administration.
“The recent statements of this administration included declaring that the return (of the region) to Ukrainian control is impossible,” she added.
She pointed out that the announcement of a transition period of 4 months to convert from hryvnia (the Ukrainian currency) to the Russian ruble in Kherson, where it is scheduled to start using the Russian ruble in Kherson from today.
The deputy head of the Civil Military Administration of the Kherson region, Kirill Strimosov, said earlier that the Kherson region will start from May 1 with the adoption of the Russian ruble as its official currency.
He pointed out that the Russian currency will become the only official currency in the region after about 4 months, and during this period it will be possible to trade the ruble and the hryvnia in Kherson, according to what the Russian RIA Novosti news agency reported.
The British Ministry of Defense added that these statements likely indicate a Russian intention to exercise strong political and economic influence in Kherson in the long term.
The ministry concluded that “permanent control of Kherson and its transmission lines will increase Russia’s ability to continue its advance to the north and west and improve the security of Russia’s control of Crimea.”
It is noteworthy that the Russian Information Agency, in the early hours of Sunday morning, quoted the Russian Ministry of Defense as saying that the bombing of two villages in the Kherson region by Ukrainian forces resulted in deaths and injuries of civilians.
On the other hand, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukrainian forces bombed a school, a kindergarten and a cemetery in the villages of Kiselivka and Shiroka Balka in Kherson Province, but it did not give information about the number of dead and wounded or when the bombing took place.
There was no immediate response from Ukraine to the report. Reuters was not able to independently verify the report.
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