An exiled Ukrainian mayor said during a recent news broadcast that there have been reports of Russian military personnel trying to escape the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast disguised as civilians, according to a story published Sunday.
The online outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported on the claim made by Ivan Fedorov—the exiled mayor of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast city of Melitopol—who was discussing the recent evacuations in the area during an interview.
On Friday, Yevgeny Balitsky, the Moscow-installed governor of partially-occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast, announced that he had ordered the evacuation of civilians from 18 settlements in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. A day later, the head of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned that the situation in areas near Zaporizhzhia's nuclear power plant had become "increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous" amid reports of fighing near the plant.
"Unfortunately, today we can only talk about the evacuation of local residents from at least more than half of the temporarily occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and enemy troops, on the contrary, are moving more and more to the Zaporizhzhia frontline," Fedorov said on Ukraine's 24/7 newscast, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
"But there are some military personnel who are trying to escape from the temporarily occupied territories," he added. "So, our residents report frequent cases when the Russian military personnel change into civilian clothes. One of the goals of why they do this is to escape from the temporarily occupied territory."
Fedorov said that because of troops trying to pose as civilians, who are allowed to evacuate, there are now more checks being done of those leaving. He also referred to the troops as "Ruscist," which the independent media outlet Meduza has said is Ukrainian shorthand for a "Russian fascist."
"Therefore, another filtering has now been added when leaving the temporarily occupied territory—when they check all civilians in cars and try to prevent Ruscist military personnel from being disguised in cars," Fedorov said, per Ukrainska Pravda.
Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email for comment.
Last week, Ukraine's nuclear operator, Energoatom, said on Telegram that the Kremlin-installed managers at the Zaporizhzhia power plant were trying to leave the site over concerns about Ukraine's expected counteroffensive.
"The traitors are looking for ways to evacuate, because they understand that the [Ukrainian] Armed Forces are already close, so there is very little time left to escape," the company wrote.
A Russian official also warned on Thursday that record high water levels in the Zaporizhzhia region could overwhelm a major dam and damage the nuclear power station. The following day, Renat Karchaa—an adviser to the general director of energy engineering firm Rosenergoatom—told the Kremlin-controlled media outlet Tass that engineers had found a way to discharge water and the risk of flooding had been "reduced considerably."
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Jon Jackson is an Associate Editor at Newsweek based in New York. His focus is on reporting on the Ukraine ... Read more
