Authorities in Kherson in southern Ukraine on Thursday called on residents to evacuate in the face of the danger of Russian strikes which are intensifying and risk leaving the city without electricity and heating for a prolonged period.
“I once again address the residents of Kherson, in particular families with children and the elderly: if you have the opportunity (…) please leave!” regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram.
He reported an “extremely difficult security situation” in Kherson, a city which had around 280,000 inhabitants before the war, where “the enemy is intensifying its attacks on the region’s essential infrastructure every day.”
“Last night, Russian forces again attacked the Kherson district heating plant with hovering bombs. (…) The installation suffered very serious damage,” continued Oleksandr Prokudin. “Kherson may find himself without electricity or heat, not for hours or days, but for a long time,” he said.
According to the governor, Russia has intensified its strikes on the region, notably with jet drones and guided aerial bombs. “Currently, there is no way to destroy these types of drones, nor guided aerial bombs, in any region of our country,” revealed Oleksandr Prokudin.
Russia and Ukraine have been ramping up their long-range strikes for several months, increasingly targeting civilian infrastructure such as logistics warehouses and oil and port sites. These attacks are causing an increasing number of civilian victims.
Last winter, the Russian army repeatedly struck Ukrainian power plants, at times plunging millions of people into cold and darkness.
The city of Kherson had been under Russian control from March to November 2022. Russian forces, now positioned on the other bank of the Dnieper River which borders it, bombard it regularly.
With AFP
