The pro-Russian authorities in the region show a lack of coordination with the Kremlin
The deputy head of the pro-Russian regional administration of Kherson annexed to Russia, Kirill Stremoúsov, announced yesterday an imminent withdrawal of Russian troops from the entire part of the region, including its capital, located on the right bank of the Dnieper River. Today, however, Stremousov said in a video broadcast on his Telegram channel that the city of Kherson “is going to be defended by Russian troops.”
At the same time, the pro-Russian leader assured that in Kherson the occupation forces have established a permanent “curfew”, 24 hours a day. However, shortly after, the part of the footage related to the curfew disappeared, was cut, which shows that there has been a reversal and that there is a certain lack of coordination between the puppet government of Kherson and the Russian command of the military operation. As he explained later, “there are absolutely no restrictions that limit the life of the city.”
What Stremousov did do, in line with what the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, had stated shortly before from Moscow, was to strongly reiterate the call for the civilian population of Kherson to leave the city as soon as possible towards the left bank of the Dnieper in order to of “letting the Russian Army do its job”. Obviously, in a curfew situation it would be impossible to organize an evacuation.
“Terrorist attacks are possible, provocations too (…) we must give the military the opportunity to continue with the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine,” said the number two of the pro-Russian administration. Today in Red Square, on the occasion of the celebration of the Day of Popular Unity and in front of the monument to Minin and Pozharski, heroes of the expulsion of Poles and Lithuanians from Russian soil at the beginning of the 17th century, Putin said that “right now the Residents living in Kherson must be evacuated from the most dangerous areas. The civilian population must not suffer from bombings, offensives, counter-attacks or other situations related to military operations.”
It so happens that the leader installed in Kherson by Moscow, Vladimir Saldo, terminated the evacuation of civilians on October 28. He then reported the departure of 70,000 people. The Russian Defense Ministry, for its part, reported the evacuation of “5,000 civilians every day to the left bank of the Dnieper.”
Stremoúsov, however, acknowledged yesterday that the streets of Kherson are “very crowded” while, days before, Seguéi Jlan, adviser to the head of the kyiv regional military administration in Kherson, maintained that “the majority of residents are still in the city awaiting the arrival of Ukrainian troops. As Stremoúsov pointed out in his video this Friday, “there are Ukrainian troops and armored vehicles nearby with the apparent intention of attacking.”
“Disinformation”
Natalia Gumeniuk, spokeswoman for the Defense Forces of South Ukraine, insists that the intelligence of the Ukrainian Army “does not rule out that Moscow is spreading disinformation” about the alleged withdrawal of its troops from Kherson. According to Gumeniuk, “Russia could be trying to deceive the Ukrainian military command by simulating a withdrawal or assuring that it will take place.” According to his account, «the Russian forces remain in Kherson dressed as civilians (…) we are closely monitoring the situation and we realize that it may be a trick, a provocation, to give the impression that the towns have been abandoned and they are safe for us.”
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov stated that “our troops are advancing on several fronts in Kherson, but Russia has fortified its positions on both banks of the Dnieper.” In his words, “the rains are affecting the course of the counteroffensive and in Kherson there are many canals that the enemy uses as trenches.”
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin estimates that Ukrainian forces will soon seize the city of Kherson. “As for the question of whether or not the Ukrainians can take the remaining territory on the west bank of the Dnieper River in Kherson, I certainly think that they clearly have the ability to do so. And what is more important, they are convinced that they will do it, “said Austin. The city of Kherson is the only provincial capital in Ukraine that Russian troops have managed to take since the beginning of the war and they did so very quickly, in the first days of the campaign. Hence, analysts believe that the Russian Army will try to prevent Ukrainian troops from recovering it.
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