Russian officers and medics evacuated from Kherson region leaving inexperienced soldiers to defend the annexed city from advancing Ukrainian forces, says think tank

The Institute for the Study of War said that Russia has taken some officers and medics out of Kherson due to fears of a Ukrainian offensive.

The US-based think tank said on Sunday that Moscow was in retreat across the Dnipro River in anticipation of an advance of Ukrainian troops.

Russian forces continued to withdraw from western Kherson Oblast while preparing to conduct delaying actions that will likely be only partially effective, according to a Russian offensive campaign assessment.

The think tank stated that medics and officers had been evacuated from Beryslav.

Two thousand newly mobilized, inexperienced forces were left to hold the frontline to delay the Ukrainian advance as the Russians completed their pullout.

The I SW warned of a Ukrainian victory if the assessment is correct. "Russia's poorly trained, newly mobilized reservists are very unlikely to stand and resist a Ukrainian counter attack if Ukrainian forces chose to attack them and chase the withdrawing forces," it stated.

Russian forces will receive bad news from Kherson Oblast in the coming week and November will be very, very hard according to a Russian milblogger quoted by the I SW.

A war correspondent told Russian state-controlled television on October 19 that "Ukrainian forces outnumber Russian troops by four to one" and that "severe territorial losses are likely in these two months."

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Kherson was the only regional capital to be captured by Russian forces.

In the last week, Moscow has ordered residents to leave ahead of a possible counteroffensive by the Ukrainian army.

Russian state media reported that ferries across the Dnipro river were being sped up.

The UK Ministry of Defense said on Saturday that Russian forces had built a barge bridge in Kherson and that it would be a critical crossing point for Russian forces to retreat.

—ISW (@TheStudyofWar) October 23, 2022

Russian forces are removing patients from the Kakhovka Hospital on the Dnipro's left bank to make room for anticipated Russian casualties, according to the I SW.

There are reports of Putin's military faltering in Ukraine. According to reports, newly-mobilized troops have not received much training or equipment.