Residents urged to leave annexed region as Ukraine advances

Moscow-installed authorities in Ukraine's occupied southern region of Kherson urged local residents to evacuate to Russia on Oct. 14, as Kyiv's forces pushed their counteroffensive deeper into the region.

The move, announced a day before, indicated that Ukrainian military gains along the war's southern front are worrying the Kremlin, which is struggling to cement its hold on areas illegally annexed from Ukraine last month. Russian authorities immediately promised free accommodations to anyone who heeded the recommendation to leave Kherson.
The region's Moscow-installed leader, Vladimir Saldo, told Russian state TV on Friday night that hundreds of people asked to be evacuated. "We're advising those who are scared of incoming missiles, in order not to get in the way of the Russian military, to depart to the Russian Federation," he said.

Saldo said Thursday the evacuations would take place from four cities, including the regional capital Kherson and Nova Kakhovka. The latter lies almost on the contact line between Russian and Ukrainian forces, with the Ukrainians advancing closer and closer.
The Russian-installed officials in the region tried to downplay the seriousness of the situation, describing the evacuations as "humanitarian," "wellness" and "vacation" trips to Russia that were voluntary. For those willing to leave, buses and ferries were being provided, according to Saldo.
But residents painted a much less pleasant picture.

Konstantin, a Kherson city resident who spoke on condition of having his last withheld for safety reasons, told The Associated Press on Friday that columns of military trucks had begun to move around the city and eventually leave. All schools were closed, and most state institutions and local...