Russian forces and their local allies consolidated their positions in Kherson on Oct. 26, dispelling rumors of an imminent Russian withdrawal from the strategic region.
“The Russians are replenishing, strengthening their grouping there [in Kherson],” Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said in an evening address on Oct. 25.
Thousands of civilians in Kherson’s combat zone were evacuated this week to the east bank of the Dnieper River in anticipation of a looming Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Overseen by the Russian military authorities, the evacuations had prompted speculation that Russian forces, too, were preparing to pull out of the area.
“Nobody is preparing to withdraw,” Arestovych confirmed. “On the contrary, the heaviest of battles is going to take place for Kherson.”…