The city of Kherson, in Ukraine’s south, is a key port city, along with Mykolaiv and Odesa. Overnight, its Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant was hit by Russian aerial bombs, this time sustaining very serious damage, apparently incapacitating it. Oleksandr Prokudin, Head of the Ukraine’s military administration for the Kherson Oblast, said that the city might be left without power for a significant period and that residents should actually vacate the city.
While Russia, overnight, hit various towns and cities, including their power plants, evacuation was only officially called for in the case of Kherson. It raises the new possibility that the city, sitting on the western side of the Dnieper River, where that major river meets the Black Sea, could be taken by Russia’s forces without significant damage. Russia claims the whole Kherson Region, based on the 2022 referendum, but presently holds areas to the east of the Dnieper River, comprising the region’s majority.
