The Oct. 18 announcement by the commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, Sergei Surovikin, highlighting negative news about the war and approving the relocation of civilians from Kherson, shows that "the Russian authorities are seriously considering a major withdrawal of their forces from the area west of the Dnipro river," according to the U.K. Defense Ministry.
Russia would face a serious challenge of extracting troops and equipment across the 1,000-meter wide river, reads the report.
As all the permanent bridges are badly damaged, Russian forces would "rely heavily on a temporary barge bridge" they built near Kherson recently and military pontoon ferry units, wrote the U.K. Defense Ministry.
On Oct. 18, Moscow-installed proxy in Kherson Oblast Vladimir Saldo announced an "organized displacement" of 50,000–60,000 Ukrainians from Kherson to the territories "on the Dnipro River’s left bank." The city of Kherson is fully located on the river’s right bank.
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