Russian-installed authorities in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson have ordered an “immediate” evacuation of residents, amid warnings of a looming Ukrainian counter-offensive to recapture the city.
In a Telegram post, authorities called on all civilians of Kherson to leave the city “immediately”, citing the “tense situation” and increased danger of shelling.
While thousands of civilians have been leaving for days across the Dnipro River, today’s warning by Russian authorities marks an urgent development.
Residents have been advised to use boat crossings to move deeper into Russia-held territory.
The city is the capital of a region of the same name, which was one of four regions illegally annexed by Russia last month following referendums labelled a “sham” by the West.
The city is strategically important and a prime objective for both sides because of its major river and seaport.
The warning comes as Ukrainian forces advance along the west bank of the Dnipro River, aiming to recapture the city.
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On Friday, Ukrainian forces bombarded Russian positions across the province, inching closer to a full assault on its capital as they targeted resupply routes.
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3:52
What is happening in Kherson?
In its daily intelligence update, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said Russian forces are continuing to reinforce crossing points over the Dnipro River in Ukraine, but are facing “increasing pressure” in Kherson.
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All departments and ministries of the Russian-installed administration in Kherson have also been told to leave.
This week, Russian commander General Sergei Surovikin said the situation in Kherson was “already difficult” and that Russia was “not ruling out difficult decisions” there.
However, in a briefing on Saturday, the Russian defence ministry said its forces had repelled a Ukrainian attempt to break through its line of control in Kherson region. Reuters was unable to independently verify these claims.
Ukrainian forces have recaptured a number of villages in the region during its counter-offensive.
‘More than a million’ without power
Image: Apartment building destroyed by a Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia
The move comes as Russia continues its missile strikes on critical infrastructure in Ukraine. On Saturday, Ukraine’s air force said several regions have reported strikes on energy facilities and power outages.
The force’s command reported that 33 missiles had been fired at Ukraine on Saturday morning and that 18 of those had been shot down.
Presidential adviser Kyrylo Tymoshenko said that as of Saturday afternoon, more than a million people across Ukraine were without power, with 672,000 of those in the western region of Khmelnytskyi alone.
In the past two weeks, Russia has increased its attacks on power stations, water supply systems and other key infrastructure.
The state energy company Ukrenergo has urged all Ukrainians to conserve energy.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on consumers to curb their power use between 7am and 11am daily.
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
Image: US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indianand Israelirepresentatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
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6:50
Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.
The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.
The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Image: Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Image: The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.