Kherson evacuation

…. the front line is on the edge of Kherson, just 500 meters from the enemy, they have plenty of ways to reach civilians.

Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesman for the Kherson Defense Command, on escalating fighting around one of the most populated and strategic cities in Eastern Ukraine.

Why It Matters: The calls for the evacuation of Kherson have grown more urgent as fighting intensifies in Eastern Ukraine. It remains the only regional capital overtaken by the Russians before Ukrainians took it back late last year. Russia continues to push soldiers into Eastern Ukraine, and questions remain about whether the Ukrainian forces can continue to hold the Eastern front (with more limited manpower).

Context: An estimated 50,000 civilians remain in Kherson.

Also in Eastern Ukraine: The much smaller city of Bakmut, also in Eastern Ukraine, remains in the crosshairs of violent exchange between Russians and Ukrainians. The Sec. of Defense Lloyd Austin says the city holds "more of a symbolic value than it is strategic and operational value" but because the standoff has lasted so long, and has absorbed so many resources, we will continue to watch both Bakmut and Kherson.

As Russia Steps Up Shelling in Kherson, Ukraine Calls on Residents to Evacuate

An assessment of the current state of the war/Bakmut by the Institute of the Study of War