Russian and Ukrainian troops gear up for major battle in Kherson

Russian and Ukrainian troops appear to be preparing for a major battle over the strategic southern industrial port city of Kherson, in a region which Russian President Vladimir Putin has illegally annexed and subjected to martial law.

Fighting and evacuations were reported in the Kherson region as Moscow tried to pound the invaded country into submission with more missile and drone attacks on critical infrastructure.

Mr Putin declared martial law in the Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions on Wednesday in an attempt to assert Russian authority in the annexed areas as he faced battlefield setbacks, a troubled troop mobilisation, increasing criticism at home and abroad, and international sanctions.

The unsettled status of the illegally absorbed territory was especially visible in the Kherson region’s capital, where Russian military officials have replaced Kremlin-installed civilian leaders as part of martial law that took effect on Thursday to defend against a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Kherson city, with a pre-war population of about 284,000, was one of the first urban areas Russia captured when it invaded Ukraine, and it remains the largest city it holds.

It is a prime target for both sides because of its key industries and major river port. Reports of sabotage and assassinations of Russian-installed officials in Kherson have surfaced for months, in what appeared to be one of the most active Ukrainian resistance movements in occupied territory.

Russian-installed officials have urged residents to evacuate for their safety and to allow the military to build fortifications. Officials said 15,000 residents of an expected 60,000 had been relocated from the city and surrounding areas as of Thursday.

President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office said on Thursday that Ukrainian forces mounted 15 attacks on Russian military strongholds in the Kherson region.

For its part, Russia’s Defence Ministry spokesman said the Kremlin’s forces repelled Ukrainian attempts to advance with tanks on the Kherson villages of Sukhanove, Nova Kamianka and Chervonyi Yar.

A Russian-installed official in the region, Vladimir Leontyev, said Ukrainian forces had launched five missile strikes against the Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power station about 70 kms (44 miles) from Kherson city. He said on Russian TV that if the facilities were destroyed, a critical canal providing water to annexed Crimea would be cut off.

Mr Zelensky countered that the Russians have mined the dam and power station, with plans to blown them up in what he called a terrorism act to unleash 18 million cubic metres (4.8 billion gallons) of water and flood Kherson and dozens of areas where hundreds of thousands of people live. He told the European Council Russia would then blame Ukraine.

None of the claims could be independently verified.

Russia’s new military commander in Ukraine this week acknowledged the threat posed by Ukraine’s counteroffensive to Kherson, and Britain’s Defence Ministry interpreted that on Thursday to mean: “Russian authorities are seriously considering a major withdrawal of their forces from the area west of the Dnieper River.”

Mr Putin tried on Thursday to address another problem area, the partial mobilisation of reservists he ordered last month and estimated it would end by the end of this month by reaching its 300,000-man target.

He visited a training centre in the Russian region of Ryazan to show progress in rectifying problems with training and supplies for newly mobilised troops.

Russian TV showed him lying under a net on a field, wearing goggles and ear protection, and shooting a rifle. A military officer showed Mr Putin and defence minister Sergei Shoigu soldiers wearing bulletproof vests and helmets, with weapons. The officer displayed winter boots, clothes, cooking utensils and other supplies — all to counter images Russians have posted on social media of shabby or non-existent gear for newly mobilised troops.

In another sign of Russia’s wavering mobilisation, Ukrainian authorities said more than 3,000 Russians have called a hotline for soldiers who do not want to take part in the war and are asking to surrender.