A Russian territory adjacent to Ukraine said it was preparing to receive refugees from the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Kherson province, after its Russian-appointed leader proposed on Thursday that residents leave to seek safety. Go as the Ukrainian army advances.
Much of the Kherson region was confiscated in the first days of Russia’s invasion as it sent troops adjacent to Crimea. It is one of four partially occupied Ukrainian territories that Russia declared as its last month by the United Nations General Assembly in a move of blasphemy on Wednesday.
However, since August it has been the scene of a major advance by Ukrainian forces.
In a video statement on Telegram, Vladimir Saldo publicly sought government help to move citizens to safer areas of Russia.
“Every day, there are missile attacks on the cities of the Kherson region,” Saldo said.
“As such, the leadership of the Kherson Administration has decided to provide the Kherson families with the option of traveling to other regions Russian Federation To rest and study,” he said, people should “go with their children”.
He said the suggestion is most important to residents on the west bank of the Dniepro River – an area that includes the regional capital Kherson.
“But at the same time, we suggested that all residents of the Kherson region, if there is such a desire, to protect themselves from the consequences of missile attacks, move to other regions as well.”
The TASS news agency quoted the governor of Russia’s Rostov region, Vasily Golubev, as saying that the first group of people from Kherson would arrive there on Friday.
“The Rostov region will accept and accommodate all those who want to come to us from the Kherson region,” he said.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnulin said those leaving Kherson would be provided with free accommodation and necessities – and, if they decided to stay out of Kherson permanently with housing.
Russia’s inclusion of four regions has been condemned by Kyiv and the West as an illegal occupation, like Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014. At the United Nations General Assembly, 143 of 193 countries condemned it in Wednesday’s vote.
Ukrainian officials say thousands of residents of Kherson have fled to empty areas of Ukraine, including half of the regional capital’s pre-war population.
Any major territorial loss in Kherson would restrict Russia’s access to the Crimean peninsula and further south, the return of which Kyiv has been coveted since 2014.
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed.
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