- Jaroslav Lukov – Paul Kirby
- BBC News
Kherson is the only regional capital of Ukraine that Russia has captured since it launched its invasion on February 24
Russia has begun evacuating civilians from the Kherson region in southern Ukraine as Ukrainian forces advance.
Vladimir Saldo, the leader of the Kherson region, installed by Russia, called on civilians to evacuate following daily missile attacks by Ukrainian forces as they advanced.
He urged citizens to “save themselves” by going to Russia “for recreation and study”, asking for help from Moscow.
Later, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khosnolin backed Saldo’s calls for citizens to leave in a message broadcast on state television.
For its part, Ukraine has rejected accusations that it targets its own citizens.
Ukrainian forces managed to regain control of some areas in the northwest of Kherson, and approached the regional capital, the city of Kherson.
“The government has taken a decision to organize assistance for the departure of residents of the Kherson region to other regions of the country,” said Khosnolin, who is mainly responsible for southern Russia and Crimea.
“We will provide everyone with free housing and everything necessary,” he added.
The region’s governor, Vasily Golubev, said that the first batch of people who will be evacuated from Kherson will arrive on Friday in Russia’s Rostov region, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.
“The Rostov region will receive and accommodate everyone who wants to come to us from the Kherson region,” he added.
Among other weapons, Kyiv largely uses the US-supplied HIMARS missile systems.
Its forces have been able to target major military targets under Russian control and have threatened to cut off the bulk of the Russian forces that control the western bank of the Dnieper River, known as the Dnipro in Ukraine.
Kherson is the only regional capital captured by Russian forces since the start of the war on February 24.
The Ukrainian military has been silent about the advance of its forces in the main region bordering Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
And in other key developments Thursday:
- All of Ukraine – with the exception of Crimea – has been on high alert for some time from airstrikes, and Russian missile strikes have been reported on energy sites and some military targets in the Kyiv and Lviv region in the west.
- Two people were also killed in the bombing of the southern city of Mykolaiv, and dramatic footage showed a young child being rescued from the rubble of a destroyed house, but he later died, officials said.
- Both Kyiv and Moscow confirmed that 20 Ukrainian soldiers were exchanged for 20 Russian soldiers – in the latest prisoner exchange.
- Russia accused Ukraine of bombing an apartment building in the Russian border city of Belgorod .
- Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and suggested building a gas hub in Turkey as an alternative supply route to Europe after problems with Nord Stream pipelines.
Speaking on Thursday, Saldo said many towns in the region – including the two large cities Kherson and Nova Kakhovka – are now under daily missile attacks by Ukrainian forces.
“Such strikes cause massive damage,” he added, urging residents across the region – especially on the western bank of the Dnieper River – to evacuate to Russia or Crimea.
He appealed to the government in Moscow to help organize the operation. He stressed that “Russia does not abandon its people.”
Earlier this month, President Putin announced the annexation of the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions in southern Ukraine, as well as Donetsk and Luhansk in the east.
Ukraine and its Western allies condemned the move, saying it had no legal standing. The Kremlin does not fully control any of the four regions.
On Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to condemn Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s regions.
143 countries supported the assembly’s resolution, while 35 countries abstained, including China and India. Besides Russia, four countries rejected the resolution: Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Nicaragua.
Although the vote was symbolic, it was the highest number of votes cast against Russia since the invasion.