Kyiv:

Ukrainian officials Thursday ordered the evacuation of civilians from the southern Kherson region, partly controlled by Russian forces and regularly hit by shelling.

“The Regional Defence Counsel of Kherson decided to compulsorily evacuate families with children from areas subject to constant enemy fire,” governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram.

Russian troops control areas in the Kherson region south of the Dniepr river, following their withdrawal last year from the city of Kherson, the regional capital, which they regularly shell.

Ukrainian officials had already recommended in August that civilians leave a dozen areas in the northeast region of Kharkiv in the face of a Russian offensive, but those evacuations were not mandatory.

Prokudin also said that regional authorities were preparing for an “emergency situation” this autumn and winter over electricity provisions.

In the winter of 2022, Russia carried out a campaign of bombing Ukrainian infrastructure, resulting in regular power cuts.

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