Russians search for civilians refusing to evacuate from occupied Kherson

Lviv, Ukraine, Nov 5 (EFE).- Russian troops have been trying to locate civilians who refuse to evacuate the occupied region of Kherson, from which the Kremlin’s army is withdrawing in the face of advancing Ukrainian soldiers, according to Kyiv authorities.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this development on its Facebook page on Saturday.

Kherson, in southern Ukraine, is one of the regions that was recently annexed by Moscow unilaterally, along with neighboring Zaporizhzhia and eastern Lungansk and Donetsk.

Although Russia already considers these areas as its own, Ukrainian troops continue to advance in Kherson and have reached its capital, while the Russians – according to Kyiv – have been withdrawing from their positions.

According to the post by the General Staff, the Russian troops are searching for local residents who refuse to evacuate to the territory temporarily controlled by the Russian invaders.

The city is being looted, the infrastructure is being destroyed, it further said, adding that the Russians have been trying to hold the temporarily captured territories, focusing their efforts on attempts to disrupt the actions of the Ukrainian defense forces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called for the evacuation of civilians from Kherson in the face of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Meanwhile, Kyiv and the West attempt to decipher whether this is a real withdrawal of troops or a strategy to ambush their forces. EFE

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