No Ukrainian Forces Left in Key City, Mayor Says as Russian Forces Advance

A military tank is seen on a street of Kherson, Ukraine, on March 1, 2022. Screenshot via Reuters

No Ukrainian armed forces remain in the southern city of Kherson, its mayor said, as Russian forces infiltrated the council building more than a week after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion against Ukraine.

The mayor of Kherson, Igor Kolykhaev, said in a statement that he urged Russian soldiers not to shoot civilians after they infiltrated the city administration building.

“I simply asked them not to shoot at people,” said Kolykhaev. “We don’t have any Ukrainian forces in the city, only civilians and people here who want to LIVE.”

His remarks came after days of heavy fighting in Kherson, a key port city of 280,000 on the Dnieper River near the Black Sea. As of March 1, Ukraine has suffered 752 civilian casualties, including 227 killed and 525 injured, according to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Russia’s defense ministry claimed as early as Wednesday morning that it had taken control of Kherson, but an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the city was still being defended by Ukraine forces.

By late Wednesday, Kolykhaev said there were “armed visitors in the city executive committee.”

“My team and I are peaceful people—we had no weapons and there was no aggression from our side,” he said in a statement.

“I didn’t make any promises to them... I just asked them not to shoot people,” the mayor wrote.

Kolykhaev didn’t specify whether the city had fallen to Russian forces, but said he is thinking about how he could “rebuild the city” after the attacks. Ukrainian officials have also yet to confirm whether the city is now under Russian control.

“We have shown that we are working to secure the city and are trying to eliminate the consequences of the invasion,” the mayor said, noting that officials are experiencing “enormous” difficulties with the delivery of food and medicine and the collection and burial of the dead.

“I am interested only in the normal life of our city!” he said.

The mayor outlined a list of six requirements citizens must adhere to, to ensure that the Russian military “is not provoked.”

Citizens may only go to the city center in the afternoon and adhere to an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, he said. Only cars with food and medicine may go to the city, and public transport will resume allowing certain workers to get to work.

People may walk in groups of no larger than two, the mayor said, urging citizens not to get into conflict with Russian forces. Cars must be driven slowly and drivers must be prepared at any time to show what they are transporting.

“So far so good. The flag above us is Ukrainian. And to keep it the same, these requirements will have to be met,” the mayor said.

Russian forces first infiltrated the strategically located city on Feb. 24, the first day of the Ukraine invasion. If taken by Moscow, Russian forces could unblock a water canal and restore water supplies to the Crimean Peninsula, according to the Associated Press.