Acting Governor of the Kherson region Vladimir Saldo said that the residents of the region "will defend their land" in these difficult times.
"We know for sure that what we are doing is the just cause. The just cause is pushing us to making the decisions that will give us an opportunity to recreate the entire territory of the Russian Federation in the future. The people who live here, they hope for it, they believe in it. Yes, it's hard for us now, but we will defend our land anyway,” Saldo said.
The video with his speech was published by the Liberal Democratic Party in its Telegram channel — a delegation of the faction visited the Kherson region.
Army General Sergei Surovikin, the Commander of the special operation in Ukraine, told Defence Minister Shoigu on November 9 that the Russian troops would need to be pulled back to the left bank of the Dnieper River. The general noted that more than 115,000 residents had already been evacuated from Kherson and neighbouring areas. He proposed to take up defence along the left bank of the Dnieper. The commander explained the "difficult decision” by the wish to save the lives of the servicemen. Shoigu agreed with Surovikin's arguments and instructed to proceed with the withdrawal of troops across the Dnieper.
The Russian troops proceeded to the manoeuvre on November 10.