Russian-installed authorities in Ukraine’s occupied Kherson region said on Wednesday they planned to evacuate around 50,000 to 60,000 people over the next six days amid mounting pressure from a Ukrainian counteroffensive. Russian-installed governor Vladimir Saldo says authorities are moving civilians to the left (east) bank of the Dnipro river to ‘ensure people’s safety’ and allow the military to ‘act decisively’ .

“I walked through the regional center this morning. Outside there was no indication that there was a lot of pressure,” Saldo said. “But when I arrived at the river port, I saw that the boats were waiting and are already loaded with people ready to go to the left bank of the Dnipro,” he said, adding that the situation was “getting tense.” .

He said around 10,000 people a day would be displaced over the next six days and some parts of Russia were ready to accept people. Residents of Kherson received text messages warning of the urgent need to evacuate, Russian state television reported. More than 5,000 have left in the past two days, Saldo said.

Russia took control of most of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine shortly after invading in February and proclaimed it annexed in September, in a move Kyiv and the West denounced as illegal. Russian forces were pushed back 20–30 km (13–20 miles)

over the past few weeks, and risks being stuck against the west bank of the Dnipro as Ukraine conducts a counter-offensive in the region.

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