Kremlin-appointed leaders of the occupied Kherson region in southern Ukraine say they have begun evacuating civilians further from the front lines.
Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-backed governor of Kherson, said on Russian television late Tuesday that they plan to move up to 60,000 people to the left bank of the Dnipro River.
Ukraine has previously said that Russia is forcibly expelling Ukrainian civilians. Human rights groups and international bodies have warned that the practice could amount to a crime against humanity.
Saldo had announced the “organized relocation” of civilians on Telegram on Tuesday.
“Our main task is to save human lives and allow the troops of the Russian Federation to effectively perform their functions to protect the Kherson region,” he said.
“We will move the civilian population to the left bank in an organized, gradual manner.”
All ministries of public administration installed by Russia in the Kherson region will also be moved to the left bank of the Dnipro, Saldo said, adding that entry to the region will be closed to citizens for seven days.
Residents in Kherson received a text message asking them to leave the city due to the threat of shelling by the Ukrainian military on Wednesday morning, Russian state media RIA Novosti reported.
Russia’s “mass expulsion of civilians” could, along with other alleged abuses, amount to crimes against humanity, according to a July report by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
In September, Ukraine’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Khrystyna Hayovyshyn, told the UN Security Council that Russia had forcibly expelled 2.5 million people from Ukraine – including 38,000 children – saying it was a violation of human rights.
The Kremlin’s mass evacuation of civilians from Kherson comes amid Kiev’s efforts to recapture territory in the south.
A Russian official warned of a possible new Ukrainian counterattack in Kherson on Wednesday.
Saldo’s deputy, Kirill Stremousov, said the situation was “stable” but claimed the Ukrainian army could strike “at any moment” and asked people to cross to the left bank of the Dnipro River.
“On the morning of October 19, the situation on the fronts and approaches in the Kherson region is stable,” he said.
“The enemy is gathering its forces and at any moment it can launch strikes on the civilian population of Kherson and the Kherson region. No one is going to back down, but we want to save your lives. Please cross to the left bank (of the Dnipro River) as soon as possible.”
Ukrainian deputy head of the Kherson region, Yury Sobolevsky, described Russia’s “evictions” as a “semi-voluntary deportation of the Ukrainian population.”
Sobolevsky confirmed to CNN that evacuations were underway.
“People do leave. Now there are a lot of people in the port of Hersona,” he said.
“Today they started mass SMSing people about the evacuation. They also started handing out leaflets about evacuation actions. At the same time, the message is spreading to the population that if they go to Russia, they will receive certificates for housing.”
Sobolevskyi, who spoke to CNN from Kyiv, blamed the Russian-backed authorities for “escalating the hysteria.”
“On the one hand, we understand that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will liberate Kherson and the region, as a result, there may be active hostilities and this poses a danger to the local population.
“On the other hand, there are no guarantees that evacuees will be safe (where they go) and away from the front lines. People will make their own decisions – to leave or to stay. It is difficult to say what decision they will make.”
