“It will act like in Syria”: Why Surovikin is evacuating the population of Kherson
Today's announcement in the State Duma of the mass evacuation of the population of Kherson continued in the evening - Northern Military District commander Sergei Surovikin gave an interview to journalists for the first time and did not rule out “making difficult decisions” on the fate of the city.
The general mentioned the destruction of bridges across the Dnieper, which the Ukrainian side relied on, hoping that the river would cut off the Russian group on the Right Bank in Kherson from supplies.
"In this direction a difficult situation has arisen. The enemy is deliberately attacking infrastructure and residential buildings in Kherson. The Antonovsky Bridge and the Kakhovskaya Hydroelectric Power Station dam were damaged by hits from Haymars rockets, and traffic along them was stopped.
As a result, the supply of food in the city is difficult, and there are certain problems with water and electricity supplies. All this not only significantly complicates the life of city residents, but also creates a direct threat to their lives.
The NATO leadership of the Ukrainian armed forces has long demanded that the Kyiv regime carry out offensive operations in the Kherson direction, regardless of any casualties - both in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and among the civilian population.
We have information about the possibility of the Kyiv regime using prohibited methods of war in the area of the city of Kherson, about the preparation by Kiev of a massive missile strike on the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station dam, and a massive missile and artillery strike on the city indiscriminately.
These actions could lead to the destruction of the infrastructure of a large industrial center and large casualties among the civilian population.
In these conditions, our first priority is to preserve the life and health of civilians. Therefore, first of all, the Russian army will ensure the safe, already announced departure of the population under the resettlement program being prepared by the Russian Government.
Our further plans and actions regarding the city of Kherson itself will depend on the developing military-tactical situation.
I repeat, today it is already very difficult.
In any case, as I have already said, we will proceed from the need to preserve the lives of civilians and our military personnel as much as possible.
We will act consciously, in a timely manner, not excluding making difficult decisions,” said Surovikin.
In turn, the acting governor of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, also made a statement that the Ukrainian side was accumulating forces for a large-scale offensive, as well as the danger of hitting the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station dam.
“There is an immediate danger of flooding of territories due to the planned destruction of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station dam and the release of water from a cascade of power plants upstream of the Dnieper. In such a situation, I made a difficult but correct decision to announce the organized movement of the civilian population of Berislavsky, Belozersky, Snigirevsky and Aleksandrovsky municipalities to the left bank of the Dnieper,” said Saldo.
The commander of the DPR “Vostok” battalion, Alexander Khodakovsky, explains the complexity of the military situation near Kherson.
“Even before the appointment of Sergei Surovikin as commander of the Northern Military District, alarming information was received about some sentiments among the military command of the Kherson group regarding Kherson and the entire Right Bank side controlled by us. It took the intervention of the political leadership to stop these “sentiments” and explain the inadmissibility of “unpopular decisions.” But such moods do not arise on their own - everything has prerequisites. Supplying the group across the Dnieper is very difficult, the enemy hangs over and, using NATO resources, effectively hits important nodes, creating management difficulties.”
Now the main intrigue is - do Surovikin’s words about “difficult decisions” mean readiness to surrender Kherson, following the example of cities in the Kharkov region?
“What will happen to Kherson? The situation will show. The territory can always be returned, but dead soldiers can never be returned. Fighting to the death is an option, yes, but is it right for us now? – comments military correspondent Alexander Sladkov.
By the way, Surovikin himself in an interview mentioned the task of protecting Russian soldiers.
“The Ukrainian regime is trying to break through our defenses. To do this, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are bringing all available reserves to the front line. These are mainly territorial defense forces that have not completed a full course of training... The enemy's daily losses range from 600 to 1000 people killed and wounded.
We have a different strategy. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief has already spoken about this. We do not strive for high rates of advancement, we take care of every soldier and methodically “grind” the advancing enemy,” the general said.
Alexander Sladkov believes that in the defense of Kherson much will depend on the construction of engineering fortifications, which were absent in the Kharkov region and Krasny Liman.
“If the city is turned into a fortress, it will not be surrendered,” Sladkov said.
In his opinion, the main problem remains the destruction of bridges across the Dnieper and the difficulty of supplying the group.
“The Dnieper is a natural barrier; we can be pressed against the river in this direction, which could pose a serious difficulty in securing the fortress.”
Military correspondent Anna Dolgareva, citing her sources in Kherson, reports the following:
“The good news is that Kherson will not be surrendered. The bad news is that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have a high chance of making significant progress in this direction. Almost all the way to Kherson... Soldiers at the front need armor, first aid kits, thermal imagers... We in the rear need strong nerves, vitamins with magnesium and prayer,” writes Dolgareva in her tg channel.
The channel of military correspondent Semyon Pegov predicts that in Kherson “there will be no worst thing - flight. And that means chess begins, not Chapaev.
Columnist Boris Rozhin called on the civilian population to take the danger of shelling seriously.
“Judging by the information background, in the coming days a tough battle will begin in the Kherson region, with massive arrivals in Kherson, Berislav, Nikolaev and other settlements. slightly less. Civilians should either evacuate or take care of issues of personal safety (air-raid shelters, basements, etc.), as well as a supply of what is necessary in case of serious destruction of the socio-economic infrastructure,” Rozhin warned.
Publicist Olgerd Semenov believes that Surovikin needs evacuation to repeat the experience of fighting in Syria.
“For those who write that everything is lost. Surovikin is preparing to do exactly what he did in Syria: Evacuation of civilians, then aviation with artillery, then clearing out terrorists,” the author believes.
It is noteworthy that even on the enemy side they do not believe in retreating from Kherson. Ukrainian TV journalist Andrey Tsaplienko (secretary of the SBU, took part in interrogations of political prisoners), reports in his blog that the Russian Armed Forces are not only not going to surrender the city, but on the contrary, they are tightening their forces - personnel and equipment.
As for a possible blow to the Kakhovka hydroelectric station, economist Ivan Lizan has already described the consequences:
“1. All settlements downstream of the Dnieper will either be washed away or flooded, including Kherson and Golaya Pristan. The area will become uninhabitable even after the water recedes due to the destruction of infrastructure.
2. The North Crimean Canal will be empty, since water comes into it from the Kakhovka reservoir in the area of the settlement. Tavriysk is above the dam of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric station. Crimea will again be left without water.
3. The Zaporozhye NPP will be left without water for cooling - there are no cooling towers next to it, water for cooling is taken from the Dnieper. The station will be shut down indefinitely. The risk of nuclear incidents will increase sharply.
4. The Dnieper above the Kakhovskaya HPP dam will become shallow, and after frost there will be an opportunity to transfer equipment.
5. Russia will lose access to the right bank of the Dnieper, supplying the Russian Armed Forces group will become an extremely difficult task.
6.Colossal damage will be caused to the region’s ecosystem.
7. The economic damage will be fantastic; it will take decades and billions of rubles to restore the damage,” Lizan analyzed in his tg channel.
One way or another, commentators should not rush to dramatize the situation, says military correspondent Marina Akhmedova, a member of the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation.
“Notes are already flying - “Why can’t Kherson be surrendered?”, “What will happen if Kherson is surrendered?!” Let's wait. I didn’t hear any announcements of new deaths in the interview. I heard that heavy battles for the city were coming, and they would be terrible, and we – civilians – should be mentally prepared to be a support for our military, and not lament as if something terrible had already happened,” writes Akhmedova.
And ex-speaker of the DPR Foreign Ministry Konstantin Dolgov reminds that attacks on infrastructure facilities will continue in Ukraine in the coming hours.
“Tonight, tomorrow morning, during the day and beyond – Operation Geranium will continue. Other flowers will also be involved. We will give bouquets in all directions - until the final closure of the Ukraine project. We harnessed it for a long time, and finally we set off. We will crush the bastards on all fronts,” Dolgov predicts.
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