Russian forces in Ukraine under pressure as Kherson towns to be evacuated - Yahoo News

LONDON (Reuters) - The caller commandant of Russian forces successful Ukraine acknowledged connected Tuesday that his troops were nether wide unit and faced hard choices, arsenic the Russian-appointed politician of occupied Kherson state announced a partial evacuation.

"The concern successful the country of the 'Special Military Operation' tin beryllium described arsenic tense," Sergei Surovikin, an aerial unit wide named this period to bid Russia's penetration forces, told the state-owned Rossiya 24 tv quality channel.

"The force continually attempts to onslaught the positions of Russian troops," helium said. "First of all, this concerns the Kupiansk, Lyman and Mykolaiv-Kryvyi Rih sectors."

Kupiansk and Lyman are successful eastbound Ukraine, portion the country betwixt Mykolaiv and Kryvyi Rih is fundamentally the bluish portion of Kherson state successful confederate Ukraine.

Russian forces successful Kherson person been driven backmost by 20-30 km (13-20 miles) successful the past fewer weeks and are astatine hazard of being pinned against the close oregon occidental slope of the Dnipro River.

Shortly aft Surovikin's comments were aired, the Russian-appointed politician of Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, announced an "organised, gradual displacement" of civilians from 4 towns connected the close bank.

In a video statement, Saldo accused Ukrainian forces, without citing evidence, of readying to destruct a large dam astatine the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric powerfulness station.

"The Ukrainian broadside is gathering up forces for a large-scale offensive," helium said.

"There is an contiguous information of flooding... owed to the planned demolition of the Kakhovka dam and the merchandise of h2o from a cascade of powerfulness plants further up the Dnipro."

Surovikin appeared to admit determination was present a information of Ukrainian forces advancing towards the metropolis of Kherson, which lies adjacent the rima of the Dnipro connected the westbound bank, and is hard for Russia to resupply from the eastbound due to the fact that the main span crossed the Dnipro has been severely damaged by Ukrainian bombing.

Russia captured the metropolis of Kherson mostly unopposed successful the aboriginal days of the invasion, and it remains the lone large Ukrainian metropolis that Moscow's forces person seized intact.

"Our further plans and actions regarding the metropolis of Kherson itself volition beryllium connected the emerging military-tactical situation. I repetition - it is already precise hard today," Surovikin said.

"We volition enactment consciously, successful a timely manner, without ruling retired hard decisions."

(Reporting by Reuters, editing by Kevin Liffey, David Ljunggren and Gareth Jones)