By Andrew Meldrum and Joanna Kozlowska
The Associated Press
Russian-installed authorities in Kherson, southern Ukraine, ordered all its residents to “immediately” leave the city on Saturday, fearing sudden clashes with Ukrainian troops.
Kherson is one of the first urban areas Russia seized after invading the country in February.
The city is the capital of a region of the same name, one of four that Russian President Vladimir Putin illegally annexed last month and then placed under Russian martial law.
In a post on the Telegram messaging service, Russian-installed authorities in that region called on civilians to use boats to cross a major river and into Moscow-controlled territory, citing a tense situation on the war front. and
the threat of bombings and alleged “
terrorist attacks
”
by Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces on Friday shelled areas where Russian troops were stationed across the province, inching closer to what could be a full assault on the capital.
Ukraine's advance seeks to hit pro-Russian forces' resupply routes across the Dnieper River.
A woman holds her child among a group of evacuees from Kherson who gather at the train station in Dzhankoi, Crimea, Friday, Oct. 21, 2022.AP
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people in central and western Ukraine
woke up Saturday to a long-range blackout and hail of gunfire
from
Russian drone and missile attacks, as well as attempts by the Ukrainian air defense to shoot them down.
Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine's power plants, water supply systems and other key infrastructure across the country, during the latest phase of a war now approaching eight months.
The Dnieper River,
key in the war
Russian-installed officials reportedly desperately tried to turn the city of Kherson into a fortress as they attempted to relocate tens of thousands of residents.
This regional capital is key for both sides due to its industries and its important river and sea port.
Russia sent up to 2,000 conscripts to the surrounding region to replenish losses and strengthen front-line troops, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army.
[Two volunteer soldiers shoot at Russian troops, killing 11 at a military firing range near Ukraine]
The Dnieper River figures prominently in the battle
because it fulfills key functions:
supplies, troops and civilians pass through it,
it provides
drinking water
for southern Ukraine and the annexed Crimean peninsula, and it generates
energy
from a hydroelectric plant.
Much of the area, including the power plant and a canal that feeds water to Crimea, is under Russian control.
Russian-backed authorities in Kherson previously announced plans to
evacuate all officials and up to 60,000 civilians across the river
, in what local leader Volodymyr Saldo said would be a "gradual and organized move."
Another Russian-appointed official estimated on Saturday that around 25,000 people from across the region had crossed the Dnieper.
Putin imposes martial law on illegally annexed Ukrainian territories
Oct. 20, 202200:28
Russia denies
forced exile
In a Telegram post, Kirill Stremousov claimed that civilians were voluntarily relocating.
“People are actively moving because, today, the priority is life.
We are not dragging anyone anywhere
,” she said, in an apparent response to Ukrainian and Western concerns about possible forced transfers by Russia.
[Jailed Belarusian Activist and Two Humanitarian Organizations from Russia and Ukraine Win Nobel Peace Prize]
Ukrainian officials have urged local residents to resist attempts to relocate them to other territories, with a local official alleging that
Russia wanted to take civilians hostage and use them as human shields
.
Ukraine again asks the West for help
Ukraine's air force said in a statement on Saturday that Russia had launched "a massive missile strike" against "critical infrastructure," adding that it had shot down 18 of 33 air- and sea-launched cruise missiles.
Air-raid sirens blared across Ukraine twice in the early afternoon, sending residents into shelters.
"Several rockets" aimed at the capital were shot down on Saturday morning, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging service.
A Ukrainian soldier sits in a shelter as he prepares to attack Russian troops with a mortar in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, October 21, 2022. LIBKOS / AP
Governors of six western and central provinces, as well as the southern Black Sea region of Odessa, issued similar reports.
The Ukrainian presidential office said in its morning statement that five explosive-laden drones were shot down in the central Cherkasy region, southeast of kyiv.
Ukraine's top diplomat said on Saturday that the day's attacks were proof that Ukraine needed new air defense systems strengthened by the West
"without a minute's delay"
.
"Air defense saves lives," wrote Dmytro Kuleba on Twitter.
Blow to the electrical system and drinking water
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office, said on Telegram on Saturday that nearly
1.4 million households were without power as a result of the attacks
.
He said some 672,000 homes in the western Khmelnytskyi region were affected, while another 242,000 were outages in the central Cherkasy province.
[Russia detains 8 people and blames Ukraine for Crimean bridge explosion]
Most of the western city of Khmelnytskyi, which straddles the Bug River and was home to some 275,000 people before the war, was left without power, shortly after local media reported several loud explosions.
The city council urged local residents to stockpile water, “in case it has also run out within an hour”, in a social media post on Saturday.
The mayor of Lutsk, a city of 215,000 in the far west of Ukraine, made a similar appeal on Telegram.
Ukraine's state power company responded to the bombing by announcing that
rolling blackouts would be imposed in Kiev
and 10 Ukrainian regions to stabilize the situation.
A man looks out the window of a building damaged by fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces in Borodyanka, in the kyiv region, Ukraine, Friday, October 21, 2022. Emilio Morenatti / AP
Cities like kyiv have been urging Ukrainians to save energy.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged consumers to reduce energy use between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. every day and avoid using energy-intensive appliances such as electric heaters.
In the past two weeks, Russia has increased its attacks on key civilian infrastructure across Ukraine.
About
40% of the country's electrical power system has been severely damaged
, officials said.
Zelenskyy said earlier in the week that 30% of Ukraine's power plants have been destroyed since Russia launched the first wave of targeted attacks on October 10.
