By Oyintari Ben
The Russian-installed administration of Ukraine’s Kherson province on Monday confirmed the creation of a local militia, saying that all men remaining in the city can join.
The occupation authorities said in a Telegram message that men who freely chose to stay in Kherson had the “option” to join territorial defense forces.
However, in the past, men in other occupied parts of Ukraine, like Donetsk, have been forced to enlist in and fight in the forces of Russia’s proxies in the conflict with Ukraine.
Martial law was enacted last week by Russian President Vladimir Putin in the occupied territories, giving their Russian-installed governments the authority to increase mobilization.
A violation of the Geneva Conventions on conduct in conflict is when civilians are forced to serve in the armed forces of an occupying state.
While Kyiv’s forces have achieved substantial military progress, Russian authorities have ordered the evacuation of residents from Kherson, one of the four Ukrainian districts that Russia claimed to have annexed last month.
In response to Ukraine’s counteroffensive, Russia and its agents in Kherson have increased the urgency of their exhortations to flee.
Sergei Kravtsov, the education minister, urged people to preserve their lives in a video message on Sunday.
Around 25,000 people have been evacuated since Tuesday, mostly by boat across the Dnipro River, according to authorities who made the announcement over the weekend.
