Statements from Russian officials in recent days signal that Putin’s troops are preparing to surrender in Kherson.
The new commander of President Vladimir Putin’s army in Ukraine appears to be preparing the Russian public for the surrender of the occupied southern city of Kherson, amid a counteroffensive by Kyiv to retake its territory.
The Kremlin-installed administration of the Kherson region sent text messages to residents urging them to leave the city, shortly after General Sergei Surovikin told the state-run Rossiya 24 TV news channel that “hard decisions must be made.”
“In the Kherson direction, the situation is not easy,” said Surovikin in his first televised interview since he was named this month to command Russia’s invasion forces. “The situation in the area of the ‘Special Military Operation’ can be described as tense.”
“The enemy continually attempts to attack the positions of Russian troops,” he said.
Ukraine’s army has been conducting successful counteroffensives since early September, driving back Putin’s troops on two fronts, in the east of the country and in the southern region of Kherson.
