“Now, of course, those living in Kherson should be removed from the zone of the most dangerous actions, because the civilian population should not suffer,” Putin told pro-Kremlin activists on Friday as he marked Russia’s Unity Day. Russia could prepare to abandon its military base on the west bank of the Dnieper River, including the regional capital of Kherson, in one of the biggest Russian retreats of the war. Kherson, a city with a pre-conflict population of around 284,000, is the only major city Russia has captured intact since its invasion in February. The surrounding province controls access to Russian-held Crimea, and its security has been one of the few successes of an otherwise disastrous Russian campaign. Ukraine has said the evacuations involve the forced relocation of civilians, a war crime that Moscow denies. Ukraine is wary of blatant signs of Russian defeat, including images circulating online showing the Russian flag no longer flying at the main administration building in the city of Kherson, saying the signs could be a trap. Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian occupation administration in Kherson, said on Thursday that Russia is likely to withdraw its troops from the West Bank. In later remarks, he was more equivocal, saying he hoped there would be no retreat but “we have to make some very difficult decisions”. Stremusov on Friday also said a 24-hour curfew had been imposed on the city to defend it against a possible Ukrainian attack, but backed off shortly after. “In the city of Kherson there are absolutely no restrictions that would limit the life of the city,” Stremusov said on Telegram after editing an earlier message announcing a curfew on the same channel. Russian authorities claimed they formally annexed Kherson along with three other provinces on September 30, despite Moscow not having full control on the ground. Ukraine’s defense minister last week said a counterattack against Russian forces in Kherson was proving more difficult than in the northeast because of wet weather and terrain. Kyiv has asked for more military help from Western allies to push Russian strongholds towards the city of Kherson. The United States on Friday announced the refurbishment of T-72 tanks and HAWK surface-to-air missiles as part of a roughly $400 million security aid package for Ukraine. The T-72s fall short of more modern tanks such as the German Leopard or the US Abrams that Kyiv has sought. “The tanks are coming from the Czech defense industry, and the United States is paying for 45 of them to be refurbished, and the Dutch government is meeting our commitments” for a total of 90 T-72s, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary said. Sabrina Singh told reporters. The Soviet-era tanks will be equipped with “advanced optics, communications and armor packages,” with some ready by the end of December and others to be delivered in 2023, he said. Singh cited factors such as ease of use and cost as reasons for not providing more modern equipment. The package also funds the refurbishment of HAWK missiles from the US stockpile, an important asset as Ukraine seeks to counter Russian drone and missile strikes targeting its cities and energy infrastructure. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Friday that Group of Seven (G7) countries are focusing more of their security support on helping Ukraine defend against Russian attacks on its energy grid. “The G7 agreed to create a new coordination group to help prepare, restore and defend Ukraine’s energy grid, the very grid that President Putin has brutalized,” Blinken said after the two-day G7 meeting in city of Muenster in western Germany. He accused Russia of trying to “freeze [Ukrainians] in submission”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said four million people across Ukraine were affected by the rolling blackouts.
