(Reuters) – Ukrainian forces are gearing up for a battle to retake the strategically important city of Kherson, with the outcome likely to prove decisive for Kyiv’s hopes of driving Russian troops from southern Ukraine.
Kyiv’s forces have made significant advances in recent weeks through the southern province of Kherson, gateway to the Crimea peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014.
The city of Kherson, where the Dnipro River flows into the Black Sea, had a prewar population of 250,000. It remains the only Ukrainian city that Russian forces have seized intact since the start of their invasion on Feb. 24.
Here is a timeline of key developments in Kherson.
Feb. 24 – Russian armoured vehicles cross from Crimea into Kherson province as Moscow’s forces pound Ukrainian cities and towns on the first day of President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation”.
March 2 – Russia’s defence ministry says the city of Kherson is under full Russian control. Russian troops are seen patrolling streets in the city centre.
March 5 – Several thousand protesters demonstrate in the city’s main square, chanting: “Kherson is Ukraine.” Protests by residents will continue on and off in coming days and weeks.
March 15 – Russia says its forces have taken full control of the Kherson region.
March 21 – Ukraine says Russian forces use stun grenades and gunfire to disperse pro-Kyiv protesters who have been demanding the removal of Russian-appointed Kherson regional governor Vladimir Saldo. Moscow denies targeting civilians.
May 25 – Putin offers fast-track Russian citizenship to residents of Kherson and the adjacent Zaporizhzhia region.
June 24 – A senior official in the Russian-installed administration of Kherson is killed in an apparent assassination.
July 10 – Ukraine urges civilians in the Kherson region to evacuate ahead of a planned counter-offensive by its forces.
July 20 – The Antonivskyi bridge – one of only two crossing points for Russian forces to territory they have occupied on the western bank of the Dnipro – is damaged by Ukrainian shelling.
July 27 – The Antonivskyi bridge is again hit by Ukrainian forces, this time using U.S.-supplied high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS).
Sept 12 – Ukraine’s southern military command says its forces have recaptured some 500 square km (193 square miles) of territory in the Kherson region as part of a wider counter-offensive.
Sept 16 – Russian-backed officials say Ukrainian forces have bombarded government buildings in Kherson, killing three people and wounding 13 others.
Sept 23-27 – Russia stages what it says are referendums in four Ukrainian regions including Kherson on whether they wish to join Russia. Kyiv and the West condemn the votes as illegal.
Sept. 30 – Putin signs treaty documents formally annexing the four regions after Moscow said majorities of up to 99% had voted in favour of joining Russia.
Oct. 3 – Ukraine retakes a number of villages along the Dnipro River in its biggest breakthrough in the south since the war began, threatening Russian supply lines.
Oct 13 – Governor Saldo urges residents in Kherson to take their children and leave for safety amid increased Ukrainian shelling.
Oct. 21 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urges the West to warn Russia not to blow up the Nova Kakhokva dam in Kherson, saying it would flood a large area of southern Ukraine. Moscow accuses Kyiv of planning to destroy the dam and then blame Russia for it.
Late October – Ukrainian forces dug in to the north of Kherson city exchange regular rocket, mortar and artillery fire with Russian troops.
Nov. 1 – Russia orders civilians to leave a swathe of land along the eastern bank of the Dnipro. Kyiv says this amounts to a forced depopulation of occupied territory, a war crime.
Nov. 3 – Kirill Stremousov, the Russian-installed deputy civilian administrator of Kherson region, says Russian forces are likely to abandon their foothold on the Dnipro’s west bank. If confirmed, this would signal a massive Russian retreat.
Kyiv said it was still fighting in the area and was wary that Moscow could be setting a trap by feigning a pull-out.
(Compiled by Gareth Jones; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
