Civilians evacuated from the city of Kherson, which Moscow claims to have annexed, gather at the railway station of the Crimean town of Dzhankoi for futher evacuation into the depths of Russia on October 26, 2022. AFP
The work to move residents to the left bank of the Dnipro River and "safe regions of Russia is completed", Sergei Aksyonov, the Moscow-appointed head of Crimea, said on Telegram late on Thursday.
Moscow's occupational authorities in the southern Ukrainian region have urged residents to cross to the left bank of the Dnipro River as Ukrainian forces make gains in the south.
Kyiv compares this to Soviet-like "deportations" of its people.
"The crossing (of the Dnipro) is empty!" Aksyonov said.
He posted photos of himself and other officials, including Kiriyenko, on a riverbank.
Kyiv's army, meanwhile, said Friday Moscow's "so-called evacuation" is continuing.
It claimed that the Russian command in Kherson is trying to "hide the real losses of servicemen" in order to "avoid panic".
In a sign of Moscow suffering heavy losses, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said late on Thursday that 23 of his fighters were killed in battles around Kherson this week with dozens more wounded.
"At the beginning of this week, one of the Chechen units was shelled in the Kherson region," Kadyrov, who has sent his militia to fight alongside the Kremlin's forces, said on Telegram.
"23 soldiers were killed and 58 wounded," he said.
The Kremlin ally rarely reveals defeats but admitted that losses were "big on that day".
Moscow's forces have vowed to turn Kherson into a "fortress" and not surrender the city, which they took over early in their offensive in March.
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