According to Kyrylo Oleksiyovych Budanov, Chief of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, Moscow is building up a military presence in Kherson, the strategic port city on the Black Sea and the Dnipro River might be readying to defend it. However, Kyiv had formerly expressed that some Russian troops were departing.

On February 24, the Putin-led military started its brutal invasion of neighboring Ukraine. The battle started across the Kherson province in southern Ukraine and resulted in several Russian successes. Later, on March 2, 2022, the Armed Forces of Russia seized the provincial capital, commencing a belligerent occupation of the city and the province – the home of major ship-building industry. And recently, the Russian forces have come under pressure as Kyiv forces advance along the Dnieper River.

Moscow officials in Kherson city have urged several thousands of non-combatant people to leave for their safety. However, the Ukrainian spy chief dismissed that as an information operation, telling a Ukrainian online newspaper that the Kremlin was making an effort to present the misleading image that everything was lost.

Furthermore, Kyrylo Budanov said that Putin’s Armed Forces are sending more soldiers and preparing the thoroughfares for defense. He continued that the evacuation of residents was an attempt to avoid embarrassment in the case of the port city falling to Ukraine. That’s a departure from Ukraine’s previous statements that the Russian invaders were fleeing the regional economic center. However, he added Russians aren’t preparing to leave.

Recruit Male Citizens into the Russian Ground Forces

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have been progressing toward Kherson city since early October. According to the Kyiv military, it has regained nearly ninety rural settlements in the area. On October 25, the Moscow-installed regional officials declared the establishment of militia units, saying that men would’ve the chance to join them.

However, Odesa regional administration spokesman, Serhiy Bratchuk, said this was a disguise to recruit male citizens into the Russian Ground Forces. According to media reports, a defeat in the Kherson battle would be a significant loss for Moscow. It’s the administrative center of one of the four areas Vladimir Putin attempted to forcibly seize after so-called referendums. Kherson Oblast controls the gateway to the Crimean Peninsula, attacked and then subsequently annexed by Russians in 2014.

According to the U.N. Human Rights Office, Russia’s unjustifiable war against Ukraine has taken the lives of about 6374 innocent civilians, including 34 children, and wounded nearly 9776.

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