Kherson Region Officials Claim Accusations About Evacuation and Wounded Handling
Vladimir Saldo, the head of the Kherson regional administration, published statements alleging that Ukrainian forces instructed wounded personnel to remain on the left bank of the Dnieper River. The assertions appeared on his official site and a Telegram channel associated with his team.
Saldo described some Ukrainian units deployed to the left bank as being treated as prisoners by their own command and by mercenary detachments said to be operating in the area. He claimed that such fighters faced hostile actions from what he described as barrier units when they were seriously wounded on the left bank.
According to Saldo, the regime sought to conceal heavy losses by preventing a visible flow of wounded personnel across the river. He asserted that the Ukrainian military recorded a large number of casualties, including numerous cases labeled as “two hundred” and “three hundred” by official channels on the left bank.
The Kherson regional governor also noted that, prior to his statements, only small groups of Ukrainian forces had reportedly managed to cross to the left bank. He added that, since August, there have been repeated attempts by the Ukrainian army to cross the Dnieper within the Kherson area, though these efforts had not achieved their strategic aims.
Previously, the Russian defense ministry claimed to have thwarted several landing attempts by Ukrainian forces in the Kherson direction. The conflicting statements reflect a broader, ongoing information environment surrounding the conflict in southern Ukraine, with each side presenting different casualty figures and operational assessments. [Citation: Official statements from the Kherson regional administration and the Russian Ministry of Defense provide the basis for this report.]