People in Kherson should be holding out and show some patience as Ukraine’s army plans to reclaim Kherson and end the ‘active phase’ of the war by the end of 2022, said Maj.Gen. Dmytro Marchenko in his interview for RBK Ukraine.

When asked which regions the Ukrainian military will be able to claw back, the Ukrainian general assured that Kherson tops the priority list ‘100%”, adding Kyiv sets the deadline for the end of this year, though he didn’t rule out ‘some localized combat’ may drag on.

Marchenko failed to elaborate on the details of the earlier announced counteroffensive in Kherson region, adding ‘it won’t be as long as everybody expects it to be, it will be fast’.

‘Unfortunately, I can’t give you terms and dates. But let me tell people in Kherson that they should bear it a bit… Let them hold out for some time. We don’t forget about them, no-one turns back on our people, we will come to rescue. They will shortly see and hear it,’ said the general.

He also voiced confidence the sham referendums Moscow will get nowhere with sham referendums in the Southern regions since ‘Kherson men are pro-Ukrainian and will balk at it’.