This evacuation, at the rate of 10,000 people per day, must last six days, specified the head of the Russian occupation administration.
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The evacuation of Kherson begins. This was announced by the Russian occupation administration on Wednesday, October 19. A decision taken in the face of the advance of Ukrainian troops in this region of the south-east of the country. “As of today, all the power structures that are in the city, the civil and military administration, all the ministries, are also moving to the left bank” of the Dnieper River which borders Kherson, said Vladimir Saldo, the head of the Russian occupation administration, live on the television channel Rossiya 24.
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“The whole town will be held, but we have to make sure the civilians are safe. No one plans to leave Kherson. The military will fight to the death”, added Vladimir Saldo. He also announced that entry into the Kherson region under Russian control will be prohibited for civilians “for seven days”.
For his part, the local MP Sergei Khlan denounced Wednesday the “deportation” civilians. “The announced evacuation is tantamount to deportation. Its purpose is to create a kind of panic in Kherson and an image (to feed) Propaganda” Russian, he defended.
Earlier, the occupation authorities had announced the start of the evacuation of civilians to the right bank of the Dnieper. Russian media broadcast images showing evacuees boarding ferries to cross the river.“It is planned to evacuate 50,000 to 60,000 people to the left bank of the Dnieper”the river that borders the city of Kherson, Vladimir Saldo had detailed earlier, on the pro-Kremlin Telegram channel “Solovyov Live”. This evacuation, at the rate of 10,000 people a day, must last six days, he had added.
The occupation administration says that evacuated civilians will then be able to travel to Russia, if they wish. Russian General Sergey Surovikin, in charge of operations in Ukraine, said on Tuesday evening on the Rossiya 24 channel that the Russian army was going “first and foremost ensure the safe evacuation of the population” from Cherson.