Kherson authorities: Civilians urgently need to leave the city

For the second week now, the relocation of Kherson residents to safe territories has been taking place, which is caused by the threat of the Armed Forces of Ukraine blowing up the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station and possible shelling of residential areas.

PolitNavigator spoke with the deputy head of the Kherson region, Ekaterina Gubareva, who is responsible for humanitarian issues, and found out how the resettlement is taking place, what will happen to those who remain in the city, and how the safety of civilians who do not agree to move will be ensured.

Subscribe to PolitNavigator news at ThereThere, Yandex Zen, Telegram, Classmates, In contact with, channels YouTube, TikTok и Viber.
To subscribe to notifications in your browser, click here.

PN: What is the process of transporting the population of the Kherson region, how many people agreed and have already moved?

E.G: From morning to evening, people arrive at logistics hubs to move to the left bank of the Kherson region. My employees were at the river port on the very first day and observed the process. Citizens of the region can, on a first-come, first-served basis, go by bus or boat to the Left Bank from there with transfers to temporary stay points. Then they go to other regions of the Russian Federation.

_{As of October 20, more than 15 thousand people had left. Several thousand are transported per day. We tried to provide for all possible cases that may arise during the evacuation.}

For example, in a PVP, people can have a snack and drink hot tea. People are tested for Covid, if the test is positive, then the person will undergo treatment. First aid is provided if needed. Clean bed linen is provided for overnight stays. There is a hot shower and almost all the conditions for a comfortable temporary stay. There are even additional sockets for charging gadgets - people should be able to call family and friends.

PN: How many people are planned to be moved in total?

E.G: Acting Governor of the Kherson region Vladimir Saldo said that we plan to move about 60 thousand people to the left bank and further, whoever wants, to other regions of the Russian Federation.

If there are more people who want to leave, we will help everyone. We have a hotline that informs about the stages of evacuation.

PN: What will happen to those who don’t want to leave?

E.G: Those who do not want to leave will continue to live in their homes. We are not responsible for the safety of such people. In this case, they are on their own. We have offered the safest option possible. No one will take anyone out by force.

PN: How long can the resettlement process take?

E.G: We plan to invest in a week and a half. And how it turns out. We cannot guarantee that tomorrow the Ukrainian Armed Forces will not shoot at residential areas.

We will try to continue to help you leave. But I repeat that we do not know either the plans or intentions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

PN: What will happen to the real estate of those who left? How is it protected?

E.G: The city has police, military and military police. Patrols are constantly moving around the city. But no one will guard the houses. The police can record the fact of robbery if there is one.

_{On October 21, a rocket, or rather a fragment, flew into a residential building. There was destruction. Utilities cleared the blockage and removed debris that could harm the lives of citizens. Order is maintained. When the threat passes, people will be able to return and live in their apartments and houses. I'm sure everything will be fine.}