Kherson is a mine-riddled ‘city of death’ that Putin will flatten, Kyiv fears

VLADIMIR Putin has turned Kherson into a mine-riddled “city of death” and will flatten it once Ukrainian troops rush in, Kyiv has warned.

Putin’s goons have mined everything from apartments to sewers and is planning to shell Kherson from the other side of the Dnipro river, Ukraine‘s presidential advisor has claimed.

Russian artillery is preparing to level the mine-riddled city of Kherson from new positions on the east bank of the Dnipro river, Kyiv claims

Kyiv says Russian troops will shell Kherson from the east bank of the Dnipro riverCredit: AFP

Russian troops guarding an entrance of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station in MayCredit: AP

Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted: “RF (Russia) wants to turn Kherson into a ‘city of death’. The Russian military mines everything they can: apartments, sewers. Artillery on the left bank plans to turn the city into ruins.

“This is what (the) ‘Russian world’ looks like: came, robbed, celebrated, killed ‘witnesses’, left ruins and left.”

Russia hasn’t commented on Podolyak’s remarks.

Putin‘s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday ordered his troops out of the Kherson and across the Dnipro River to take up defensive lines.

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Ukraine’s military said it was still unable to confirm if Russian troops were withdrawing from the area.

Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov told a briefing that the Ukrainian armed force’s own actions had left Russian forces no option but to withdraw.

He said: “But at the moment, we can neither confirm nor deny the information about the so-called Russian withdrawal of troops from Kherson. We will continue our offensive operation in accordance with our plan.”

Meanwhile, Oleksiy Arestovych, another senior advisor, said Russian forces appeared to be leaving the region “but not as much as would be taking place if it was a full pull-out or regrouping”.

Kyiv fears Putin’s goons may blow up the Kakhovka dam upstream from the city, causing floods and destroying the nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

President Zelensky warned: “Once more, I want to specifically warn everyone who is making the decisions in this regard in Moscow: any attempt by you to blow up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, flood our land and leave the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant without water will mean that you are declaring war on the entire world.

“Think about what will happen to you then.”

Ukraine’s generals said that Russian troops dressed in civilian clothes were being positioned in houses across Kherson and are preparing for street battles.

There were also claims by Ukrainian officials that film crews were spotted entering the southern city in preparation for staged attacks to make it look as if Kyiv’s forces were killing innocent civilians.

In a meeting of senior military officials, General Sergei Surovikin, Russia’s commander in Ukraine, said it was no longer possible to continue supplying the city.

The news follows weeks of Ukrainian advances towards the city, seen as the gateway to Crimea, and a race by Russia to “relocate” tens of thousands of its residents.

Surovikin, who earned the nickname “General Armageddon” due to his brutality in Syria, said that more than 115,000 people have crossed the Dnipro River in recent weeks.

Kherson was the only regional capital conquered by the Russians since the start of the war more than eight months ago.

Ilia Ponomarenko, a defence reporter at the Kyiv Post, said earlier on Wednesday that the retreating Russian army were “blowing up all bridges in Kherson Oblast” and removing their flags from the city.

It marks one of Russia’s most significant retreats since the start of the war and a potential turning point in the conflict that has raged since late February.

Kherson was one of four Ukrainian territories, along with Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia, which were annexed by Russia following sham referendums in September.

At the time, Russia claimed that the new territories would remain Russian “forever”.

It comes after the Putin-installed puppet leader in Kherson was killed hours, following his warning to Russians to leave the city.

Former YouTuber Kirill Stremousov – reviled for a sick stunt swinging a baby round his head – had urged civilians to flee their homes while pumping out twisted pro-regime propaganda.

He was reportedly killed in a car crash according to Vladimir Saldo, Kherson’s Russia-appointed governor.