Kherson offensive: Russian general says situation tense as local allies urge evacuation

Gen Sergey Surovikin is the commander of Moscow's invading forces

Smoke rises on the outskirts of the city during a Russian missile attack in Kyiv. Reuters

Workers surround the Monument to the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred with sandbags against damage from shelling in Mykolaiv. EPA

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev for talks before a meeting between the Russian president and the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, Russia. AFP

People take water from a water pump in Kyiv. EPA

A woman walks past a damaged building in the town of Nova Kakhovka. Reuters

A woman outside her home, which was destroyed during battles at the start of the conflict, in Yahidne, Chernihiv. Getty Images

People shelter inside a subway station during a Russian missile attack in Kyiv. Reuters

Firefighters at the site of a drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

A woman walks past the site of a Russian missile strike in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. Reuters

Rescuer workers at a building destroyed in an attack in Mykolaiv. Reuters

Parts of a drone lie on a street in Kyiv. Reuters

A drone flies over the Ukrainian capital during an attack. AFP

Ukrainian servicemen tow a captured Russian armoured vehicle in Rudneve village, Kharkiv. EPA

A partially destroyed residential building in Saltivka, in Kharkiv. AP

Ukrainian servicemen fire a captured Russian howitzer on a front line near Kupyansk city, Kharkiv. EPA

Ukrainian servicemen near the recently retaken town of Lyman in Donetsk region. AFP

An officer from a Ukrainian national police emergency demining team prepares to detonate collected anti-tank mines and explosives near Lyman, in the Donetsk region. AFP

A boy playing on a destroyed Russian tank on display in Kyiv. AFP

A young couple hiding underground during an air alert in Zaporizhzhia. AFP

Ukrainian firefighters looking for survivors after a strike in Zaporizhzhia. AFP

Workers fix a banner reading 'Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson - Russia!' to the State Historical Museum near Red Square in Moscow. AFP

Residents try to cross a destroyed bridge in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. AFP

Alyona Kishinskaya helps to clean up a shop as it prepares to reopen in Balakiya, Ukraine, after a six-month Russian occupation. Getty Images

Alla, 12, has a swinging time in Balakiya, Ukraine, as life goes on despite the war. Getty Images

Ukrainian flags in the town square in Balakiya. Getty Images

A destroyed Russian command centre in Izium, Ukraine. Getty Images

In what may be a final farewell, young Russian recruits - escorted by their wives - walk to a train station in Volgograd before being sent to war in Ukraine. AP

Russian recruits board the train to Ukraine in Volgograd. AP

Ukrainian soliders drive a tank at the recently retaken eastern side of the Oskil River in Kharkiv region, Ukraine. AFP

Volunteers pass boxes of food aid on a destroyed bridge over the Oskil River. AFP

Ukrainian soliders rest on an armoured personnel carrier. AFP

A sign warns of landmines in Izyum, eastern Ukraine. AFP

This crater was left after a missile strike in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. AFP

Russian forces are in a “very uneasy” situation around the strategic Ukrainian port city of Kherson, the commander of Moscow's invading forces has said.

His remarks came as the Russian-installed head of the Kherson region urged civilian evacuations from the area, saying 60,000 could leave in the coming days.

Kherson, which had a pre-war population of about 300,000, fell to Russian invading forces early in the conflict.

The city and surrounding oblast were annexed by Russia on September 30, after a referendum widely described as a sham vote and condemned by 143 UN member states voting on a resolution on October 12.

Only five countries, including North Korea, Syria and Russia’s close ally Belarus, voted against the resolution.

“Our plans in the city of Kherson will depend on the tactical military situation that is already very uneasy. We will seek to protect the lives of civilians and our service members,” Gen Sergey Surovikin said at a press conference in Moscow.

“We will act in a timely manner, without excluding the most difficult decisions.”

Ukraine has long stated its intention to recapture the city but launched a surprise offensive much further north near Kharkiv in early October, routing Russian forces after Moscow decided to reinforce Kherson.

The southern city is difficult to defend, located north of the 2,200-kilometre-long Dnieper river. In recent months, Ukrainian forces have been damaging and destroying bridges supplying the Russians on the northern bank.

Analysts say a successful Ukrainian offensive in Kherson could trap around 20,000 Russian troops, including some of their best forces.

Gen Surovikin alleged that Ukraine planned to attack infrastructure, including a dam at a hydroelectric plant. He also said the Russian army would “provide for the already announced safe transportation of the population under the relocation programme”.

Russia was heavily criticised in May at the end of the siege of the southern port city of Mariupol, when the UN asked for a humanitarian corridor to be kept open to evacuate civilians.

The UN said Russia initially reneged on its commitment, shelling civilian areas during the evacuation. Gen Surovikin said that in the event of the anticipated battle in Kherson, his forces would take steps to protect civilians.

“Under these conditions, our priority is preserving the life and health of peaceful citizens,” he said.

“Our further actions and plans regarding the city of Kherson itself will depend on the military-tactic situation at hand. I will say this again: it is already very difficult as of today.”

Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed Kherson region chief, said the risk of attack by Ukrainian forces had led to a decision to evacuate some civilians from four towns.

“The Ukrainian side is building up forces for a large-scale offensive,” Mr Saldo said in a video statement.

The Russian military was preparing to repel the offensive, he said, and “where the military operates, there is no place for civilians”.