Chris Lange, FISM News

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Kyiv and the West responded with caution after a Russian-installed official in southern Ukraine signaled that Moscow is planning to withdraw its forces from the west bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region on Thursday.

Western military analysts said that Russia may, in fact, be setting a trap for Ukrainian forces advancing in the region, Reuters reported. The Kremlin has not issued any statements about a possible retreat, which, if true, would represent a major setback for Russia in the war.

“Most likely our units, our soldiers, will leave for the left (eastern) bank,” Kirill Stremousov, the Russian-installed deputy civilian administrator of the Kherson region, told a Kremlin online media outlet in an interview Thursday. He also urged civilians to evacuate the region.

Natalia Humeniuk, spokeswoman for Ukraine’s southern military, expressed skepticism following the interview.

“This could be a manifestation of a particular provocation, in order to create the impression that the settlements are abandoned, that it is safe to enter them, while they are preparing for street battles,” she said in televised comments.

The area includes the city of Kherson and a key dam used to supply water to Russian-occupied Crimea.  

Sec. Austin gives most optimistic assessment of Ukrainian counteroffensive to date

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday said that he believed Ukrainian forces could retake Kherson. 

“On the issue of whether or not the Ukrainians can take the remaining territory on the west side of the Dnieper River in Kherson, I certainly believe that they have the capability to do that,” he said at a joint press briefing with his South Korean counterpart.

“We’ve seen them engage in a very methodical but effective effort to take back their sovereign territory. I think you’ll see them continue to press until they secure the territory on the west side of the river. So to answer your question, I do think they have the capability.

Austin and South Korean Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup had met to discuss North Korea’s barrage of missile launches over its waters, which possibly included a failed intercontinental ballistic missile launch. National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, John Kirby, told a virtual press briefing on Wednesday that North Korea has been supplying Russia with “thousands” of artillery shells to aid the Kremlin in its war on Ukraine.

Zelenskyy: Russia engaged in ‘energy terrorism’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of engaging in “energy terrorism” during his Thursday night video address following another day of Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy network that left millions of residents across the country without power.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 450,000 apartments in the capital alone did not have electricity on Friday, The Associated Press reported.

“I appeal to all residents of the capital: save electricity as much as possible, because the situation remains difficult!” the mayor wrote on the Telegram messaging app. 

Russia in recent weeks has unleashed a barrage of attacks on Ukrainian power facilities using missiles and Iranian-supplied drones. The attacks have drawn harsh condemnation from the West, which has accused the Kremlin of trying to inflict suffering on the Ukrainian people by targeting water supplies and electric power ahead of winter. 

Kyiv officials accuse Russia of forcing evacuees into occupied territories

Elsewhere on the battlefield, Ukraine’s military said its aircraft made a dozen strikes on eight military targets in unspecified Russian-occupied territories. Officials said four Kremlin anti-aircraft units were struck, as well as three areas where Moscow forces and equipment were concentrated and two ammunition depots.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry accused Russia of carrying out a “mass forced movement of residents” in Kherson and Zaporzhzhia provinces in the south and Luhansk and Donetsk regions in the east “to the territory of temporarily occupied Crimea or to the Russian Federation.”

US Senators vow continued bipartisan support for Ukraine during Kyiv visit

Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), who both serve on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, traveled to Kyiv this week where they reassured President Zelenskyy that Ukraine will continue to receive bipartisan support from Congress, regardless of the outcome of next week’s general election.

“We met with President Zelenskyy to discuss Ukraine’s needs as it continues to defend itself against this brutal Russian invasion and to show American solidarity with the Ukrainian people,” the Senators said in a statement.

Zelenskyy tweeted that Coons and Portman are “true friends of Ukraine” and thanked them for their “leadership support.”

“We discussed the situation at the front, the missile terror by the [Russian Federation] and the priority areas of aid for Ukraine, defense and economic. We believe in joint victory!”

Medvedev: Russia’s mission is to defeat “Satan”

Putin ally and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “Satan” in a speech marking Russia’s Day of National Unity. 

Medvedev, who serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said the task of the fatherland is to “stop the supreme ruler of Hell, whatever name he uses — Satan, Lucifer or Iblis.” He also said Russia has weapons at its disposal to “send all our enemies to fiery Gehenna,” a Hebrew term for Hell.