• Ukraine’s deputy prime minister encouraged citizens in the Russian-occupied Kherson area of the country’s south to go immediately
• Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk warned on national television that it was “obvious there will be fighting, there will be artillery fire… and we, therefore, urge (people) to escape promptly.”
• The Russian-installed government in Kherson says it wants to organize a referendum on joining Russia, but no date has been established.

Ukraine’s deputy prime minister encouraged citizens in the Russian-occupied Kherson area of the country’s south to go immediately because the country’s armed forces were preparing a counterattack.

In the first weeks following Russia’s invasion on February 24, Ukraine lost control of the majority of the Kherson region along the Black Sea, including its city.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk warned on national television that it was “obvious there will be fighting, there will be artillery fire… and we, therefore, urge (people) to escape promptly.” She remarked that she was unable to predict the precise timing of the counteroffensive.

“I know for sure that there should not be women and children there and that they should not become human shields,” she said.

The Russian-installed government in Kherson says it wants to organize a referendum on joining Russia, but no date has been established. According to the Kremlin, the local populace should decide the future of the area.

The city of Kherson, which before the war had a population of approximately 300,000, is a part of the Kherson area. The number of city residents that are still living there is unknown.

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