Ukraine live briefing: Kremlin-backed authorities warn Kherson civilians to leave ‘immediately,’ urge them to go to Russia

Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of seeking to blow up a major hydroelectric dam in Nova Kakhovka near Kherson, potentially flooding southern areas. “Destroying the dam would mean a large-scale disaster,” he warned in a television address, urging the West to act “powerfully and quickly” to prevent such an outcome. Russia has denied the accusations.

Meanwhile, Ukraine said it defended itself against a “barrage” of at least three dozen rockets that Russian forces fired at areas including Kyiv, Volyn, Kirovograd and Odessa on Saturday, wiping out power for almost 1.5 million people. Its air force said it had shot down at least 18 Russian cruise missiles. Odessa regional governor Maksym Marchenko said two rockets hit energy infrastructure, wiping out power in some areas, while Ukraine’s electricity company Ukrenergo and other regional authorities said repair crews were restoring power to networks in the west. In Kyiv, air raid sirens sounded in the capital as Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged civilians to stay indoors and seek shelter. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba decried the “barrage of Russian missiles aimed at critical civilian infrastructure.”

Here’s the latest on the war and its impact across the globe.

1. The fight for Kherson

• Concern is growing about the Kakhovka dam this weekend as a potential target. Earlier in the week, Zelensky accused Russian forces of mining the hydroelectric plant, one of Ukraine’s largest power facilities, in preparation for a “false flag” attack. He did not provide evidence of the Russian plot but told European Council leaders that the infrastructure attack could lead to flooding in 80 settlements and destroy much of southern Ukraine’s water supply. Kremlin-backed officials have instead claimed that Ukraine is planning to blow up the 1956 dam on the Dnieper River to flood Russian-occupied Kherson and have evacuated thousands of people from the city in preparation. The Washington Post could not independently verify the claims.
• Russia has begun to withdraw from Kherson’s western region, the Institute for the Study of War said Friday. Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command said the same day that Russian forces were “actively” moving military equipment and several units to the east bank of the Dnieper River. On Saturday, the Ukrainian military Facebook account said Russian-backed forces had left the small villages of Charivne and Chkalove, stealing cars and goods on their way north, toward the Dnieper River crossing.
• Occupying Russian authorities told residents to flee Kherson on Saturday afternoon, urging them to take “documents, money, valuables and clothes.” News-service photos showed people boarding ferries and buses in Kherson, pets and luggage in tow. Ukrainian troops have been advancing toward the city in an effort to upend the Russian-backed administration that was installed there under an orchestrated annexation violating international law. In an effort to lure Kherson residents into places with stronger Kremlin footholds, Russian cities and the occupied Crimean region were offering incentives such as payments and housing assistance, according to Moscow-backed authorities’ Telegram accounts.
• Kherson was having problems with cable internet connectivity Saturday evening, according to Russia-backed authorities. In a post on Telegram, the occupying regional administration cited technical maintenance. Mobile internet connectivity, it said, was uninterrupted.
• Russian forces have erected a “barge bridge” across the Dnieper River as they struggle to retain control of Kherson, according to a daily intelligence update from Britain’s Defense Ministry. The use of heavy barge bridges was common in Soviet-era operations, the ministry said, adding that this is probably “the first time the Russian military have needed to utilise this type of bridge for decades,” a move likely to have “material and logistics benefits.”

2. Other key developments

• Washington sees no evidence of Moscow ending the war soon, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Friday alongside his French counterpart. Instead, he said, the Kremlin is “doubling and tripling down” on its aggression in Ukraine. “Every indication is that far from being willing to engage in meaningful diplomacy, President [Vladimir] Putin continues to push in the opposite direction,” Blinken said.
• A bipartisan congressional delegation met Zelensky in Kyiv, including Reps. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio), Jim Himes (D-Conn.) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.). The group “talked about financial support, about our political interaction, about what new anti-European and anti-democratic steps to expect from Russia,” Zelensky said Friday. The visit came after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) this week signaled that the GOP would oppose more aid to Ukraine. President Biden said this week that he is worried that Republicans may cut aid to Ukraine if they win back the House.
• Lutsk Mayor Ihor Polishchuk said three Kh-101 missiles “destroyed” a power facility Saturday in Ukraine’s northwest. Nearby, the Rivne region implemented electricity restrictions to stabilize distribution. Ukrainian authorities have been using such restrictions in recent weeks while Russia has targeted electrical infrastructure.

3. Battleground updates

• Nearly 16,000 civilian casualties in Ukraine were recorded by the U.N. human rights office, U.N. Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council on Friday. DiCarlo said that figure included 6,322 deaths and that “the actual figures are considerably higher.”
• Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held a rare call with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, on Friday; it was their first conversation since May. Officials from both sides have offered few details about the call, but Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said Austin “emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid the ongoing conflict.”

4. Global impact

• Iran criticized European calls for a United Nations investigation into Iranian-made drones that the international organization says are being used by Russia in Ukraine. On Saturday, Tehran said it condemned the “false and baseless” accusations as France, Germany and Britain called for a probe. Britain imposed sanctions on Iran this week, while the Canadian government also condemned Iran’s “active support of Russian atrocities.” Moscow denies that it is using the Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones.
• The European Union has pledged to give Ukraine 1.5 billion euros ($1.48 billion) a month in 2023, a total of 18 billion euros. “It is very important for Ukraine to have a predictable and stable flow of income,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after a European Council meeting in Brussels.
• Zelensky accused Russia of “deliberately inciting” a food crisis by slowing down global grain shipments. The Ukrainian president said more than 150 ships were in an “artificial queue” caused by Russia delaying their passage. The Washington Post could not confirm the veracity of his statement. “Russian attempts to exacerbate the food crisis are also aggression against every person on Earth,” Zelensky said, adding that countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, China and Bangladesh were most affected by delayed food exports. The two warring countries agreed this summer to allow agricultural exports after a Russian blockade locked more than 20 million tons of grain in Ukrainian Black Sea ports.

5. From our correspondents on the ground

In a bloody battle for Bakhmut, Russian mercenaries eye a symbolic prize. The crash and roar of artillery rarely stops in one eastern Ukrainian city, located roughly 10 miles from the border of Donetsk and Luhansk, that has been locked in heavy fighting for four months — with the front line barely nudging.

Residents of Bakhmut huddle by candlelight and pray they have safety in numbers, while on the battlefield soldiers on both sides are dying in droves, Louisa Loveluck and Robyn Dixon report.

Nonetheless, a founder of the Russian Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, continues to pour fighters into Bakhmut, though the city is no longer a strategic military target, experts say. Instead, the shattered region appears to be a military trophy for the Russian oligarch, seemingly eclipsing all strategic logic.