MOSCOW – After visiting the region with the Kremlin’s domestic chief Sergei Kiriyenko, the head of Moscow-annexed Crimea claimed civilian withdrawals from occupied Kherson coordinated by Russian soldiers during a Ukrainian counter-offensive were “finished.”
“The effort to coordinate inhabitants leaving the left bank of the Dnipro (river) to safe regions of Russia is accomplished,” Crimea’s Moscow-appointed leader, Sergei Aksyonov, said late Thursday on Telegram.
As Ukrainian forces advance in the south, Moscow’s occupation authority in the southern Ukrainian territory have ordered inhabitants to cross to the right bank of the Dnipro River.
Kyiv compares it to Soviet-style “deportations” of its citizens.
“The Dnipro crossing is deserted!” According to Aksyonov.
He shared images of himself and other officials on a riverbank, including Kiriyenko.
Meanwhile, Kiev’s army stated Friday that Moscow’s “so-called evacuation” is still ongoing.
According to the report, the Russian command in Kherson is attempting to “conceal the true casualties of servicemen” in order to “prevent panic.”
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov stated late Thursday that 23 of his men were killed in fighting around Kherson this week, with scores more injured, indicating that Moscow is suffering serious losses.
“One of the Chechen troops was shelled in the Kherson region at the beginning of this week,” Kadyrov, who has sent his militia to fight alongside the Kremlin’s forces, stated on Telegram.
“There were 23 soldiers dead and 58 injured,” he claimed.
The Kremlin ally seldom admits setbacks, but said the losses were “significant on that day.”
Moscow’s forces have vowed to convert Kherson into a “fortress” and refuse to cede the city, which they seized early in their March onslaught.
Source: AFP
