The evacuation of people and property by Russia from the occupied Kherson is an information operation and manipulation, in fact, the Russian authorities are bringing new military units into the city and preparing the streets for defense. This was stated by the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Kirill Budanov in an interview with the Ukrainian Pravda publication.
“In many aspects, this is an information operation and manipulation. There are some facts. For example, Promsvyazbank is being withdrawn, other financial structures are taking out the seriously wounded, trying to discharge those who can walk from hospitals as soon as possible, and are conducting this crazy information campaign that “we care about people” and the like.
According to the head of the GUR, the Russian authorities create the illusion that "everything is lost." In fact, the city is being prepared for defense, because if Ukraine returns control of the dam of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station, the Russians "have to make a decision very quickly."
“Either they will very, very quickly leave the city and leave, or they risk ending up in the situation that our units in Mariupol found themselves in before.”
According to the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, now Russia is preparing the ground in order to get out of Kherson very quickly if something happens, but at the same time it plans to defend itself – and it is preparing for this.
Budanov added in an interview that the dam of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station has been partially mined by Russia since the spring, but this explosive is not enough to completely destroy it. According to him, the complete destruction of the dam is unprofitable for Russia.
When asked about the attack on the Crimean bridge, he replied that it would be better to talk about it "at another time." Budanov agreed with the statement of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the explosion could have occurred due to an internal conflict between the Russian military and intelligence officers.
On October 22, the occupying authorities of the Kherson region demanded that civilians urgently leave Kherson. The Russian government also approved housing subsidies and payments for those who were forced to leave the city: residents will receive a lump sum of 100 thousand rubles and a housing subsidy, for this you need to submit an application.
Zelensky stated that the Russian military was preparing a terrorist attack on the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station in the Kherson region, the dam could be mined. At the same time, Vladimir Saldo, appointed by Russia as the “acting governor of the Kherson region,” alsoclaimed that there was “an immediate danger of flooding the territories in connection with the planned destruction of the dam of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station.” Military experts told The Insider that blowing up the dam does not make any military sense for Ukraine, but they believe Russia could theoretically take this "crazy" step in an attempt to keep Kherson. The experts agreed that, most likely, the occupying authorities deliberately whipped up panic in order to force the local population to leave.