Russian commander admits situation 'tense' in Kherson amid Ukraine’s counterstrikes

Russia's army is preparing to evacuate civilians from the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, occupied by Moscow, the Russian military commander for Ukraine operations said on Tuesday.

"The Russian army will above all ensure the safe evacuation of the population" of Kherson, General Sergey Surovikin, who has been in charge of operations in Ukraine for the past 10 days, told state television Rossiya 24 describing the situation as "very difficult".

Kherson is one of the four regions in Ukraine that Moscow recently claimed to have annexed.

The city of Kherson, which lies near Moscow-annexed Crimea, was the first major Ukrainian city to fall to Russian forces after the Kremlin launched its attack on February 24.

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Surovikin said Ukrainian strikes targeting civilian infrastructure "create a direct threat to the lives of residents".

Last week the Kremlin-appointed head of the area. Vladimir Saldo. said the region was being hit by an increasing amount of rockets causing "serious damage". He said civilian infrastructure was being targeted.

Saldo said those leaving would go to Crimea, a peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and southern Russian regions.

The call came a day after Kyiv said it had retaken five settlements in Kherson.