It will be hard for Russian troops to 'evacuate' from Kherson region - UK intelligence

According to Ukrinform, the UK Ministry of Defense said this in its latest intelligence update published on Twitter.

On October 18, 2022, recently appointed commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin, told Russian media that "a difficult situation has emerged" in the Kherson region. He endorsed the previously announced plans of the occupation authorities to evacuate the civilian population.

British intelligence believes that as the overall operational commander, Surovikin's announcement highlighting negative news about the "special military operation" is highly unusual.

It likely indicates that the Russian authorities are seriously considering a major withdrawal of their forces from the area west of the Dnipro River.

"A key challenge of any Russian withdrawal operation would be extracting troops and their equipment across the 1000m wide river in good order. With all the permanent bridges severely damaged, Russia would highly likely rely heavily on a temporary barge bridge it completed near Kherson in recent days, and military pontoon ferry units, which continue to operate at several locations," British intelligence said.

Photo: AA