'City Of Death' - Putin's Troops Have Mined Kherson And Will Shell It To Rubble When Ukraine Advances

'City of death': Putin's troops have mined Kherson and will shell it to rubble as soon as Kyiv's men advance, Zelensky adviser warns amid fears Russian retreat is actually a trap

CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE 

Russia has turned Kherson into a 'city of death' by boobytrapping 'everything' including apartments and sewers and will shell it to pieces as soon as Ukraine's men advance into it, a senior adviser to President Zelensky has said.

Mykhailo Podolyak issued the warning hours after Moscow said it would be withdrawing troops from Kherson to the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, handing one of the biggest prizes of its invasion over to Ukraine.The move, announced in a heavily stage managed state TV spectacle, sparked fears the 'retreat' is actually a trap.

'The Russian Federation wants to make Kherson a "city of death",' Podolyak said Thursday. 'The Russian military mines everything they can: apartments, sewers. Artillery on the left bank plans to turn the city into ruins.'

General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, supreme commander of Ukraine's army, said his men have begun moving towards the city and have advanced four miles in two directions and captured about 12 villages in the last 24 hours. General Zaluzhnyi added that he is unable to confirm or deny whether the retreat is for real. 

'We continue to conduct the offensive operation in line with our plan,' he wrote in a post on Telegram.

Strategically, the city was Russia's only toe-hold on the western bank of the Dnipro River and losing it makes an assault on Odesa - Ukraine's main port city and a key objective of the war - all-but impossible. Conversely, taking it puts Ukrainian artillery within striking distance of Crimea which is Kyiv's ultimate objective.

President Zelensky, speaking overnight, urged 'emotional restraint' at the news - suggesting the retreat may not be all that it seems. 'The enemy does not give us gifts,' he added.

He also voiced fears that Russia may try to blow up a dam at Nova Khakovka - upstream of the Dnirpo River from Kherson - flooding the area and draining a reservoir which the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant relies on to cool itself, potentially triggering a meltdown.

Mark Galeotti, a professor and author on Russia, Putin and his wars, said the withdrawal is possibly an example of 'maskirovka' - a word that literally means 'something masked' but is used to describe a military tactic of deception that is embedded in the Russian military psyche.