Crimean Governor Sergei Aksenov announced Friday that the operation to evacuate the Kherson region has been successfully completed, a measure that was taken by pro-Russian authorities in the face of the advance of Ukrainian troops in the area.
Aksenov explained that «all the residents have been moved to the western part of the Dnieper in the region» and visited the area together with the deputy chief of staff of the President’s Office, Sergei Kiriyenko.
«The pass is empty. The work has been completed after organizing the departure of residents to safer areas of Russia. I am glad that everyone was able to leave the area quickly and safely as shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine continues,» he has asserted in a message on his Telegram channel.
Aksenov has also visited the Zaporiyia nuclear power plant to «address the situation at the plant,» Interfax news agency reported. «We have met with a team to study the state of the plant. It is not easy for people, we are doing our best to support them. We are not abandoning our people,» he said.
The pro-Russian governor of Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, has indicated that since the evacuation began, some 80,000 people have moved westward across the river.
The Ukrainian region of Kherson was one of the four whose annexation was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, although Russian forces do not control the entire territory.
