Conflicts & War

Ukraine says Russian flag removed from Kherson gov’t HQ

Lviv, Ukraine, Nov 3 (EFE).- Ukraine said Thursday that its troops have retaken the regional administrative headquarters in the southern city of Kherson and removed the Russian flag flying over it.

Kherson is the capital of the eponymous surrounding region which had been occupied and illegally annexed by Russia.

In a message on Telegram, the mayor of nearby town Oleshky across the Dnipro river, Yevhen Ryshchuk, confirmed that locals in Kherson were reporting “that Russian troops have abandoned checkpoints in the settlements of Chornobaivka, Stepanivka and Bilozerka”, adding that “in the town of Kherson itself, the number of (Russian) military personnel has visibly decreased”.

Ukrainian troops have made significant advances in recent weeks in the north and northeastern areas of Kherson.

The Russian-installed regional administration has reacted by ordering the evacuation of the civilian population, saying it would allow Russian-backed forces “to create a staggered defense, which will make it possible to repel attacks by Ukrainian armed groups and to defend our civilian population,” the acting governor appointed by Moscow, Vladimir Saldo, said.

As part of the evacuations from Kherson, some 80,000 people were transferred to the left bank of the Dnipro.

While United States think tank the Institute for the Study of War has said that Ukraine could retake Kherson by the end of the year, Ukrainian official sources recently acknowledged that Russia is significantly reinforcing its troops in the region, which holds major strategic importance due to its proximity to the Crimean peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014.EFE

int-rml/ks/ch

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