Ukraine to begin voluntary evacuation from Kherson, Mykolaiv

Ukraine will begin to evacuate people who want to leave the recently liberated southern city of Kherson and its surrounding areas, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has announced, citing damage to infrastructure by Russian forces that had made life extremely difficult for residents.

News of the evacuation came as Russian missiles were reported to have struck an oil depot in Kherson on Saturday evening, officials said, the first time a fuel storage facility had been hit in the city since Russia withdrew more than a week ago.

Vereshchuk said on Saturday that a number of people had expressed a wish to move away from Kherson and the area around Mykolaiv, about 65 km (40 miles) to the northwest.