Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu approved today a proposal by Gen. Sergei Suvorovikin, the commander of all Russian forces in the special military operation, to withdraw from the city of Kherson following the completion of the evacuation of civilians across the Dnieper River. According to Sputnik, Surovikin told Shoigu that should the Kiev regime proceed with its plans to destroy the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric plant and dam, roughly 60 km upstream, it could lead to disastrous consequences.
“There will be an additional threat to the civilian population and a complete isolation of the group of our troops on the right bank of the Dnieper. Under these conditions, the most rational option is to establish defense along the barrier line of the Dnieper River,” he said, adding that the intensive discharge of water through the dam of the Kiev hydroelectric power plant downstream, which Ukraine has been carrying out since Oct. 10, was also a cause for concern about the possible flooding of both banks of the Dnieper River.
“We will save, most importantly, the lives of our servicemen and, in general, the combat capability of the group of troops, which is futile to keep on the right bank in a limited area. In addition, part of the forces and means will be freed up, which will be used for active operations, including offensive in other directions in the zone of the operation,” he explained.
According to Sputnik, Shoigu agreed, emphasizing that the lives of Russian servicemen will always be a top priority. “We must take into account the threat to the civilian population too. Make sure that everyone among the civilian population who wants to leave can do it,” Shoigu told Surovikin. Surovikin reported that 115,000 civilians who wanted to leave Kherson have been evacuated.
Overall, Surovikin said, the situation along the length of the front from Kharkov to the Black Sea is stable. In fact, according to other reports, D.P.R. forces have finally succeeded in kicking Ukrainian forces out of the Donetsk airport, part of which they’ve occupied for the past eight and a half years.
