Russian General Prepares Kherson Surrender: 'Hard Decisions Must Be Made'

The new commander of President Vladimir Putin's army in Ukraine appears to be preparing the Russian public for the surrender of the occupied southern city of Kherson, amid a counteroffensive by Kyiv to retake its territory.

The Kremlin-installed administration of the Kherson region sent text messages to residents urging them to leave the city, shortly after General Sergei Surovikin told the state-run Rossiya 24 TV news channel that "hard decisions must be made."

"In the Kherson direction, the situation is not easy," said Surovikin in his first televised interview since he was named this month to command Russia's invasion forces. "The situation in the area of the 'Special Military Operation' can be described as tense."

"The enemy continually attempts to attack the positions of Russian troops," he said.

Ukraine's army has been conducting successful counteroffensives since early September, driving back Putin's troops on two fronts, in the east of the country and in the southern region of Kherson.

Russian forces face an increasingly difficult situation on the battlefield in Ukraine, notably around Kherson and in the north in areas east of the Oskil river, as Ukrainian troops press on with efforts to retake land seized during the war.

Putin annexed the Kherson region, as well as Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia, following sham referendums in the partly occupied regions that have been decried by international communities as illegal.

But statements from Russian officials and the Kremlin-installed authorities in recent days signal that Putin's troops are preparing to surrender in the city of Kherson.

"Further actions and plans regarding the city of Kherson will depend on the developing military-tactical situation, which is not easy. We will act consciously, in a timely manner, without ruling out difficult decisions," Surovikin said.

Vladimir Saldo, head of the Russian-installed administration of the Kherson region, announced the "organized transfer" of civilians in four districts from the west bank to the eastern bank of the Dnieper River.

He said the measure is necessary, because Ukraine is "assembling forces for a wide-scale offensive" and that there is an "immediate danger that the territory will be flooded due to the planned destruction of the dam at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant."

Saldo urged residents not to listen to "alarmists," claiming that "the Kherson region remains under the reliable protection of the Russian army."

Saldo also said on Russian state TV program Solovyov Live on Wednesday that authorities plan to transport about 50,000 to 60,000 people to the east bank of the Dnieper River within a week.

Saldo's deputy, Kirill Stremousov, said that "the battle for Kherson will begin very soon" as he asked residents to "leave the area of the brutal fighting to come if possible."

Kherson was the first major city seized by Putin's forces after the war began in February.

Newsweek reached out to the foreign ministries of Ukraine and Russia for comment.