Russian troops order thousands of civilians to flee Kherson as Ukraine prepares offensive to retake key city

RUSSIAN troops have ordered thousands of civilians to flee as Ukraine prepares a new offensive to retake a key city. Up to 60,000 are set to quit Kherson in days as Vladimir Putin’s generals said the situation was “tense” and “difficult”. AFPRussian troops have ordered thousands of civilians to flee as Ukraine prepares a new offensive to retake a key city[/caption] Kremlin-appointed puppets in the annexed region were among the first to flee. They boarded boats to cross the Dnipro River, while military vehicles were seen leaving by road. Kyiv branded the exodus a “mass deportation” of its citizens who were being forced further into Russia and Crimea. Ukrainian forces are advancing along the Dnipro’s west bank in a bid to recapture the city and ­encircle thousands of Russian troops. READ MORE ON THE UKRAINE WAR SICKLY VLAD Vlad seen with ‘track marks from IVs on hand’ as rumours swirl he has cancer NEW FRONT How Mad Vlad could launch attack on Kyiv from Belarus in wild gamble to win war The city is key because it provides crossings for supplies, troops and civilians, drinking water for southern Ukraine and the annexed Crimean peninsula, and power from a hydroelectric station. There are growing fears Russia is now plotting to blow up the Kakhovka dam to flood the city. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russians had mined the dam to spark a “catastrophe on a grand scale”. Hundreds of thousands of people around the Dnipro basin would be in danger of flooding if it was destroyed. Most read in The Sun POSITIVE SIGN Boris gives thumbs up & arrives in UK with support to be PM - but Rishi leads FIREBALL CRASH Plane crashes into apartment block killing everyone onboard in inferno SOAP STAR DEAD Former EastEnders star dies backstage after performing in play THE HORNY OF AFRICA Inside The Gambia's sex tourist industry where Brit grans bonk toyboys NO CAP Coca Cola has made a huge change to bottles - and it's annoying fans HELPING HAND Free cash you can get on Universal Credit this Xmas you DON’T have to pay back Meanwhile missile attacks caused rolling blackouts in Mykolaiv and Odesa.