By Bond Robertson 
As Ukraine gains ground, Russia is ramping up its defense. Now all civilians in Kherson are required to leave the city immediately. One million households in the country will be without electricity.
On Saturday morning, there were reports that air defense sirens sounded in large parts of Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities He confirms the attacks and describes them as a “mass attack”.
According to President Zelensky, Russian forces have launched a total of 36 missiles at Ukraine in the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian website writes. Ukrinform Saturday afternoon.
Five missiles were also shot down on their way to the capital, Kyiv, Alexei Aristovich, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, wrote in Twitter.
One Overview It appears that alarms are sounding over “all countries”, with the exception of the annexed Crimea.
Waiting for a counterattack
At the same time, the Russian Defense Ministry said that it had halted attempts by Ukrainian forces to launch counterattacks in Luhansk and Donetsk, as well as in the city of Kherson.
The authorities of the detainees in the Russian-occupied Kherson region, this afternoon, Saturday, asked all civilians to leave the city of Kherson, according to what was reported by the Russian News Agency. Interfax.
Kherson was the first major Ukrainian city to fall to Russian forces after the invasion in February. Over time, Russia prepared for Ukraine to try to recover the annexed city, It even evacuated its government officials earlier this week.
On Tuesday, it was also known that the civilian population In four cities of Kherson Province it will be banished From regions on the banks of the Dnipro River.
on Telegram They wrote that residents should leave the city and cross the Dnipro River, due to the “tense situation at the front” and the “threat of terrorist attacks” from Ukrainian forces.
25,000 civilians are said to have already moved away in anticipation of attacks, claims Kirill Strimsosov, the head of the Russian administration imprisoned in Kherson.
People are actively moving, because the priority today is life. We don’t force anyone, we don’t drag anyone along.
AFP writes that there was an attack from the Ukrainian side on Russia on Saturday afternoon. At least two people must have been killed near the border.
million without electricity
The missiles rained in several places in the country, including Zaporizhzhya and Kharkiv. In the latter city, the authorities have turned bus stops into places of refuge, he writes Telegraph.
On Friday, Russian forces escalated their attacks on electric power stations. Power outages have been reported in several places in the country.
Ukraine’s president’s office said on Saturday that one million homes were without electricity after the Russian attacks.
The last time Third of power plants in Ukraine have been destroyed.
On Saturday morning, Russia also launched missiles at infrastructure in the Odessa region, according to the Odessa Military Administration (OVA).
At the same time, fierce fighting is taking place in several places, including the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.
Pablo Krilenko, the district governor, claimed Saturday morning via the Telegram messaging service that three civilians were killed in Bakhmut in the past 24 hours.
On Friday, Krilenko said the situation in Donetsk was “extremely tense,” with Russian forces continuing heavy bombardment along the front line, he writes. Kyiv Independent.
Ukraine is gaining ground
But Ukraine claims that it is regaining more and more settlements in the Kherson region, including a town on the Dnipro River.
An intelligence expert says this is creating fear among Russians.
88 settlements were restored in the Kherson region, said the deputy head of President Zelensky’s office, Kirillo Tymoshenko, in cable Friday.
Ukrainian authorities put the number last week at 75.
On August 31, Ukrainian authorities confirmed that they had launched an attack in the southern Kherson region, and The troops slowly moved forward.
Ukrainian newspaper Ukrainian look He writes that, according to Tymoshenko, humanitarian assistance is provided to the residents of the restored settlements in the Pereslav region.
This region is located on the western side of the Dnipro River, as well as the city of Kherson.
The town of Preslav, which is considered the administrative center of the region, is not far from the Kakhovka Dam, in which Ukrainian President Zelensky believes Russian troops planning to blow up.
This will flood towns and cities, including Kherson, according to Zelensky.
Knows the threat from Ukraine
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine signed on Friday Facebook All the organs of the occupation authorities in the city of Pereslav ended their operations today, Wednesday.
The fact that Ukraine now claims to have restored settlements in the Pereslav region, near the Kakhovka Dam bridge, is the ability to create fear in the Russians.
This explains Tom Rosth, director of the Department of Intelligence at the Norwegian Defense College.
The Russians know the threat from the Ukrainian side. This may be an opportunity for Ukrainians to cross the Dnipro River. But I don’t think they will until they meet after occupying the entire northwest side of the river, says Rosth.
He points out that Russia may have planted explosives on the opposite bank.
– Or they blow up a dam and cause a natural disaster and a human catastrophe. I hope that the military leaders of the Russian side will come to their senses.
A harsh speech that does not withstand the believers
The city of Kherson “will become a fortress that Russian forces will defend to the end,” said the deputy head of the ousted Russian administration, Kirill Strimosov, in a video message on his site. Telegram account.
This was reported by the state-owned Russian news agency RIA Novosti Friday afternoon. However, British intelligence reported on Thursday Things indicate that the Russians are seriously considering a large-scale withdrawal of their forces.
Intelligence expert Tom Rosth believes the harsh rhetoric is unbelievable.
– The fact that those who have no military responsibility say that the troops should stand in their position in the city of Kherson gives little credibility, he says.
This week, the imprisoned Russian command withdrew from the city of Kherson – but the Russian soldiers are still there.
As Stremousovv mentioned it “The battle for Kherson will begin soon.»
Kherson is fairly intact
Should Russia be left with an urban power that will maintain the barriers for as long as possible to make them as difficult and costly as possible for the Ukrainians? asks Rosth.
– Or will they soon understand that they will be cut off by precision artillery and that this is a losing battle?
He believes that it is up to Moscow.
– Putin wanted them to keep the city. Politically, Russia does not want to lose this, but withdrawing instead has long been a military cleverness.
Kherson is the only regional capital that Russia has successfully captured since the start of the invasion.
Rosth explains that the city is relatively intact because it was quickly conquered without a fight. He says Ukraine’s goal is to get Russia to withdraw without major battles because it does not want urban warfare.
When Russia urged civilians to evacuate, Ukraine responded that it would, of course, not bomb Kherson like this.