Kherson 'situation will be clear in days' says Russia installed official

The situation in Ukraine's south will become clear imminently, said a Russian-installed official in Ukraine's southern Kherson region on Tuesday (November 8), as anticipation of a confrontation in the area between Ukraine and Russia builds.

Kirill Stremousov, the Russian-installed deputy civilian administrator of the Kherson region, said within "weeks or even days" either the city of Mykolaiv or Kherson would be “liberated”.

Russia has been evacuating civilians from occupied areas, especially from Kherson region, in an operation that Kyiv says includes forced deportations. Moscow says it is taking people to safety.

Stremousov said on Thursday that the mass evacuation of civilians to the left bank of Dnipro River was now over.

Those who remain on the right bank must arrange their evacuation, he added in a daily video update published in his Telegram channel.

Stremousov added that the situation on the ground was stable and there were no disruptions to the electric supply, despite “acts of sabotage and terror”.

The Russian army took Kherson in the very first days of what Moscow refers to as its “special military operation” ordered by the President Vladimir Putin on February 24.

Ukrainian forces have been on the offensive in recent months, while Russia is regrouping to defend areas of Ukraine it still occupies, having called up hundreds of thousands of reservists.