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Putin says civilians 'need to be removed' from Kherson
The Hindu
The Russian Army later said it was evacuating "more than 5,000 civilians" from the Kherson region each day.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said civilians should be taken out of Moscow-occupied Kherson in southern Ukraine, where Russian forces have been leading evacuations since mid-October as Kyiv's forces advance.
"Those who live in Kherson should be removed from zones of dangerous fighting," Mr. Putin told young volunteers from the occupied Ukrainian territories on Red Square as Moscow celebrated Unity Day.
"The civilian population should not suffer from shelling, an offensive, a counter-offensive or other such things," he said.
The Russian Army later said it was evacuating "more than 5,000 civilians" from the Kherson region each day.
Moscow's occupation authorities in Kherson say they have helped tens of thousands leave the region and have vowed to turn Kherson city into a "fortress".
Kyiv has likened Moscow's efforts to remove the civilian population from Kherson to Soviet-like "deportations" of its people.
Mr. Putin was speaking to volunteers involved in helping people leave Kherson, in remarks made after laying flowers at a monument honouring those who fought off a Polish invasion in 1612.