Russia to help evacuate occupied Ukraine region due to kyiv counter-offensive

Russia announced this Thursday that it will help evacuate the inhabitants of the region ukrainian of Khersonwhich was annexed last month, in a further sign that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is continuing to advance.

The announcement came a day after Ukraine claimed the reconquest of five towns in that region, located in the south of the country.

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“The government decided to organize aid for the evacuation of the inhabitants of this region to other regions,” stated Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Jusnulin.

Previously, the occupation authorities had asked Moscow to evacuate civilians from that territory, in the face of a counteroffensive by the Ukrainian army.

“We ask that all the inhabitants of the Kherson region who want to protect themselves from missiles [ucranianos] they can go to other regions” Russians, the head of the regional occupation administration, Vladimir Saldo, said on Telegram.

“Take your children and go”he exhorted in a speech broadcast on social networks.

The evacuees will be taken to the Crimean peninsula, annexed in 2014 by Moscow, and to the Rostov, Krasnodar and Stavropol regions in southern Russia.

The Ukrainian army launched a counteroffensive several weeks ago in that territory, annexed by Moscow at the end of September, and assured that it reconquered 400 square kilometers in less than a week.

The city of Kherson, located near Crimea, was the first major Ukrainian city to fall to Russian forces after the February 24 invasion began.

“Severe consequences”

The head of diplomacy of the European Union (EU), Josep Borrell, sent a strong message to the Kremlin after President Vladimir Putin’s veiled threats to resort to nuclear weapons to stop his setbacks on the battlefield.

“Any nuclear attack against Ukraine will generate a response; It will not be a nuclear response but it will be so strong from a military point of view that the Russian army will be annihilated”, he claimed.

Putin “He assures that he is not lying. And you can’t afford to brag now.” Borrell said.

But “Those who support Ukraine – the EU and its member states, the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) – are not bluffing either,” pointed out.

After the annexation of four Ukrainian territories, Putin warned that Russia will have the right to use all the resources at its disposal to defend itself, in a clear reference to atomic weapons.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also warned that the use of atomic weapons, even small ones, would have “severe consequences”.

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NATO has yet to threaten to use its nuclear arsenal to respond to Russia, since Ukraine is not a member of the military alliance and is therefore not covered by its self-defense clause.

Turkey does not offer to mediate

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended Turkey’s burgeoning trade ties with Moscow during a meeting with Putin in Kazakhstan.

But Erdogan did not offer to mediate between Moscow and kyiv, something the Kremlin expected.

Putin, for his part, proposed creating a “gas center” in Turkey to export gas to Europe.

The supply of Russian gas to the European Union is disrupted as a result of the bloc’s sanctions against Moscow and the failure of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

The “gas center” in Turkey proposed by Putin has no “no sense”, indicated the French presidency.

Turkey — which is a member of NATO — has maintained a neutral role and maintained good relations with both kyiv and Moscow.

bombings

Authorities in Russia’s Belgorod region, near the Ukrainian border, said a Ukrainian shelling caused an ammunition depot in a village to explode.

They also reported that a Ukrainian bombardment hit a residential building in the city of Belgorod, with no casualties reported.

The Ukrainian army claims to have repelled Russian attacks near the towns of Bakhmutske, Ozaryanivka, Ivangrad, Marinka and Bakhmut.

The pro-Russian forces claimed for their part to have taken control of the towns of Opytne and Ivangrad, south of Bakhmut.

Further north, AFP journalists on Thursday heard artillery fire in Yampil, near the strategic Liman railway junction, recently recaptured by kyiv.

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Returning from the front line, a Ukrainian soldier claimed that the town of Torske was under Russian shelling.

In the south, Mikolaiv also suffered attacks. According to the mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych, a five-story residential building was devastated.

“An 11-year-old boy was rescued from the rubble and seven other people may still be trapped,” said.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.