The meeting point is the river station of Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine occupied by Russia. Groups of civilians take the road to exile here, aboard shuttles chartered for the occasion. Fifty kilos of luggage per person are authorized, with the obligation to put a label with his name. To cross the Dnieper, the road is no longer an option. The Antonovsky Bridge, in particular, is targeted by Ukrainian artillery. Ferries disembark at Oleshky in the east and Hola Prystan in the south. Temporary accommodation centers must accommodate the evacuees.
Before boarding, the inhabitants are invited to register by telephone, and to take the necessary with them (telephone, identity documents, clothing, food…). They also have to cut off electricity, water and gas in abandoned apartments. Some of them had received text messages asking them to evacuate “immediately”, due to imminent Ukrainian strikes, reports the Russian agency Tass. The occupying authorities affirmed on Wednesday October 19 that they had evacuated 15,000 people, for a stated objective of 50 to 60,000 people in one week. The city alone had 280,000 souls before the war, but the number of inhabitants today is unknown.
For two days, the Russian media have been broadcasting images of the queues in front of the pier. At the same time, it is now forbidden for civilians to go to the right bank of the Dnieper, unless they present a pass issued by the army. It is also planned that the regional civil administration will be transferred to the left bank, said the occupation authorities, but the municipal services will remain in the city.
According to the occupation authorities, the evacuees have the choice of remaining in the region, or of joining annexed Crimea or the Russian regions of Rostov, Krasnodar and Stavropol. Buses run several times a day. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khousnullin has unveiled a plan for “housing certificates” entitled to state aid to buy a new apartment. A simple announcement, for the moment, because no decree has been published.
Senator Andreï Tourchak, secretary general of the United Russia party, tried to reassure the inhabitants on this point, during the visit of a center of volunteers installed on the left bank. “This certificate will be calculated based on the number of people in the family, and you can choose any region of Russia”he assured. “We must strengthen our information work, so that people feel reassured”he agreed, however.
What are the Russian motives? Difficult to see clearly. The regional occupation chief, Vladimir Saldo, had initially announced the names of four localities to be evacuated as a priority, but the call now concerns all the candidates for departure, including Kherson. The objective, according to him, was to give way to the Russian army, which was busy establishing a defensive line. Russian General Sergey Surovikin, in charge of operations in Ukraine, had said that the Russian army was going “ensure the safe evacuation of the population” of the regional capital, while the Ukrainian forces continue their counter-offensive.
kyiv, for its part, accuses Russia of using civilians as a human shield. For the Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilovthe Kremlin organizes “the preparation of the mass deportation of the Ukrainian population” to Russia “in order to change the ethnic composition of the occupied territories”. The Russian army “wants to use the peaceful people of Kherson as a human shield”also wrote the Ukrainian governor of the region, Yaroslav Yanushevich.
“We urge the people of Kherson to ignore these calls from the occupiers.”
Yaroslav Yanushevich, Ukrainian governor of the Kherson regionon Telegram
Another element must be considered: the strategic Kakhovka hydroelectric dam. Vladimir Saldo accuses the Ukrainian forces of wanting to destroy the infrastructure, which would lead to flooding throughout the region. General Sourovikine also denounces Himar missile strikes (American weapons) on the structure. A map of the potential damage has been widely shared on Russian social media, claiming 5-meter waves would descend on the regional capital within two hours if destroyed.
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kyiv in return accuses the Russian forces of preparing people’s minds before destroying the dam themselves and accusing Ukraine. “A breach could cover the Russian withdrawal to the right bank and prevent, or delay, the advance of Ukrainian forces across the river”also analyzes the Institute for the Study of War (in English). Finally, according to the same experts, this evacuation is also “probably intended in part to evacuate Russian occupation officials and their collaborators”.