Speaking on Russian television on Thursday, deputy head of the regional administration Kirill Stremusov said: “Most likely, our troops will withdraw to the eastern bank of the Kherson region.” However, he did not give a timetable for the withdrawal, and with no apparent signs that Russian troops in the West Bank are making any meaningful moves to withdraw, the statement has caused confusion on the ground. A resident of Kherson told CNN that as far as they could tell there is no mass withdrawal of Russian troops from the city, but there has been unusual movement among Russian forces, with some checkpoints in the city removed. The deputy head of the Kherson regional council, Yuriy Sobolevsky, told CNN that the Russians “left some of their checkpoints in Chornobaivka, Stepanivka and Bilozerka (settlements in the north and west of the city, closer to the front line),” confirming that there are also “fewer checkpoints in Kherson.” Sobolevskyi believes that statements about a possible withdrawal of troops are “more like a trap” as he sees “no mass withdrawal”. (Observafr/Twitter) A social media video from Kherson on Thursday showed that the Russian flag was no longer flying at the main administration building. This video was confirmed by Sobolevskyi. The photo was taken today. Your mysterious disappearance you know what…” he said on Telegram. A Russian reporter in the area disputed this, saying he drove around Kherson and that this was not a “systemic phenomenon”, adding that the Russian flag still “hangs over other administrative buildings and educational institutions”. ‘The roar of tanks moving in large numbers at night’: Kherson resident, meanwhile, whose identity CNN is not revealing for his own safety, said that “during the day there are very few large military vehicles · they used to run endlessly all day.” In northern Kherson, in the direction of Mykolaiv, the resident said “there is a large build-up of manpower and equipment. Residents of the suburbs hear the roar of tanks moving in large numbers at night” in neighborhoods near the airport. The Ukrainian military says fighting continued around Berislav, up the river from the city of Kherson, with the Southern Operational Command saying enemy troops continued to launch rocket and artillery attacks on peaceful settlements. He also said that occupation authorities “temporarily banned the movement of civilian vehicles along the (Dnieper) river,” opposing Stremusov’s call for civilians to leave the city for the east bank. Russian authorities said that “a temporary evacuation of civilians from all settlements in the 15-kilometer zone of the east bank of the Dnieper is underway.” Attacks on Russian targets: Ukrainian forces have stepped up attacks on critical supply hubs for Russians in Kherson this week, with new attacks on Nova Kakhovka and pontoon bridges on the Dnieper River near the city of Kherson. Images spotted by CNN on Thursday showed wrecked boats on the coast near the city of Kherson. Ukrainian forces also hit an administrative building on the east bank in Hola Prystan. Stremusov confirmed the strike and said no one was injured during the shelling, but the Hola Pristan administration building was “totally destroyed”. Russian forces are fortifying a zone on the east bank, extending about 15 to 20 kilometers downriver from Nova Kakhovka. Stremusov previously said Russian forces are dug in and will defend the areas of the west bank of the Dnieper they still hold. At the same time, Russian forces have begun building fortifications on the east bank, according to both Ukrainian officials and Russian-backed local administrations. If Russian forces completely withdraw from the West Bank, they will cede thousands of square kilometers of occupied territory they annexed in September to Ukrainian forces.
