According to Yurii Sobolevskyi, a member of the deposed pro-Ukrainian regional council, Russian-installed authorities in occupied Kherson are making life more difficult for residents by pressuring them to leave.
“The occupiers are putting more strain on the Kherson region’s local population.” Filtration measures and searches of cars and buildings have been stepped up, and public transportation is limited,” Sobolevskyi said yesterday on Telegram.
“Of course, the ‘evacuation’ campaign continues, with the goal of convincing our people to accept deportation to the Russian Federation,” he added.
Kherson has been in Russian control since the beginning of Ukraine’s nearly 8-month-long war.
The city is the seat of the same-named region, one of four unlawfully acquired by Russian President Vladimir Putin last month and placed under Russian martial law on Wednesday.
Ukrainian forces pounded Russian positions across the province on Friday, aiming for pro-Kremlin forces’ resupply lines over the Dnieper River and moving closer to a full assault on Kherson.
Since initiating a counteroffensive in late August, the Ukrainian military has recaptured large territories in the region’s north. It announced fresh victories on Saturday, claiming that Russian troops were forced to retire from the Beryslav region villages of Charivne and Chkalove.
