Flee or be deported – Putin’s warning to people of Kherson

Vladimir Putin issued a chilling warning last night to the residents of Ukraine’s occupied Kherson – leave or face being forcibly deported to russian-held territory.

The despot made his remarks in an interview with state media in moscow that indicated his troops could soon be on the retreat, with Ukraine pushing further towards the city snatched by russia’s armed forces in the early days of the war.

‘Those who still live in Kherson should certainly be removed from the area of the most dangerous hostilities... civilians should not suffer from shelling, from attacks, counter-attacks or something like that,’ said Putin.

reports have emerged of russian soldiers abandoning checkpoints in Kherson and moving to the eastern bank of the dnipro river. Kirill Stremousov, one of Putin’s puppet officials in the occupation administration, last night slapped a 24-hour curfew across the city. The former Ukrainian politician, wanted for treason by Kyiv, said it was ‘in order to defend our city of Kherson’ from what he called ‘terrorist attacks’.

He urged civilians to flee, saying columns of Ukrainian vehicles had been spotted on the frontline and that an attack was possible.

On Thursday, he admitted ‘we have to take some very difficult decisions’ after pictures circulated of his main HQ with russia’s flag no longer flying atop it.

Officials in Ukraine have admitted privately that they are wary, saying it could be an attempt to lure Ukrainian troops into a trap. The institute for the Study of War, a US think-tank, said it remains ‘unclear’ whether the occupying forces truly plan not to put up a fight for the strategic Black Sea port.

in another apparent sign of russia’s huge military weakness, Putin yesterday signed a decree allowing serious convicted criminals to sign up with the russian army, effectively granting murderers and rapists their freedom if they are willing to fight.

Britain’s ministry of defence said yesterday that russia is deploying so-called ‘blocking units’ which ‘threaten to shoot their own retreating soldiers in order to compel offensives’.

■ President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused russia of ‘energy terrorism’ after strikes on Ukraine’s facilities left millions of residents without power.

russia has carried out missile and drone attacks on power facilities in recent weeks, leaving 4.5million across the country without electricity.