What Kherson's evacuation order signalled on 13 October 2022

What did it mean when Russia said it would move civilians out of Kherson? On 13 October 2022, Moscow announced that it would evacuate residents of the city to "other regions of the country", following an appeal from Volodymyr Saldo, leader of the Kherson Military-Civilian Administration. The announcement came during Ukraine's southern counteroffensive.

A move framed as protection

The evacuation was presented as a response to an appeal from the occupation-installed administration. Set beside the counteroffensive in the south, it placed the fate of Kherson's civilians at the centre of the war's southern front. The announcement said nothing more than that residents would be taken elsewhere in Russia, and it is that bare formulation which makes the day worth revisiting.

Strikes on civilian areas continued

The same day, Russian forces launched eight missiles at Mykolaiv and hit a five-storey residential building. An 11-year-old boy was pulled from the rubble with broken legs after hours trapped, but later died in hospital of heart failure.

One day earlier, on 12 October, a strike on a marketplace in Avdiivka, in Donetsk Oblast, killed at least seven civilians and injured eight. On 11 October, a Russian missile strike damaged critical infrastructure and caused a major power outage in Lviv.

Energy pressure spreads beyond Ukraine

The damage to infrastructure carried regional consequences. On 12 October, Moldova urged its citizens to use less electricity after Ukraine suspended electricity exports because Russian missile attacks had damaged critical infrastructure. Attacks on Ukraine's grid were therefore already being felt in a neighbouring country.

Allies respond with air defence

The diplomatic and military response gathered pace on 12 October. The UK Ministry of Defence said it would donate AMRAAM air-to-air missiles in the coming weeks, noting they can intercept cruise missiles, plus a further 18 howitzers. French President Emmanuel Macron said France would send radar and air defence systems in the coming weeks. Canada announced C$47 million in new military aid, including artillery rounds, winter clothing, drone cameras and satellite communications.

The UN General Assembly also passed a resolution condemning Russia's "attempted illegal annexation" of Ukrainian territory. Only Belarus, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia and Syria voted against.

Other signals from the preceding days

Russia said on 12 October that it had arrested eight people, five Russians and three from Ukraine and Armenia, over the Crimean Bridge explosion. On 11 October, thousands of Russian troops entered Belarus by the trainload, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned G7 nations that Russia was planning another offensive against Kyiv with direct Belarusian involvement. That followed an accusation by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko that Ukraine was planning to attack his country. Also on 11 October, Russia added Meta Platforms, parent of Facebook and Instagram, to its list of "terrorists and extremists".

Reading the day

Taken together, 13 October 2022 showed a war in which Russia was announcing the removal of civilians from a contested southern city while its missiles kept hitting residential and civilian targets elsewhere. Ukraine's partners, for their part, were focusing on air defence, the very capability needed against such strikes.