Kherson regional authorities extended the curfew on Monday, as the authorities were tipped off as to the presence of a Russian diversionary-infiltration group in the area. Meanwhile, law enforcement in the Kharkiv region found a Russian straggler hiding in the area months after it was liberated during the course of Ukraine’s counteroffensive, back in September and October.

A new curfew regime is being introduced in the Kherson region from 5 pm to 6.30 am, beginning as of March 13, the head of Kherson Regional Military Administration Oleksandr Prokudin has informed.

“From March 13 until March 17, the curfew will last from 5 pm to 6.30 am,” he wrote on the Telegram channel on Monday. “Therefore, I ask everyone who needs to leave the region today to do it immediately, and in the future, plan your time in the territory of the city and the region.”

According to Prokudin, the authorities have received information that a Russian diversionary group may have infiltrated the area. The curfew is intended to prevent civilian casualties while authorities are on the hunt for the saboteurs.

“Please treat the situation with understanding and in all seriousness. Remain calm and assist the defense forces in eliminating [Russian forces],” said Prokudin.

Kherson was captured within the first two weeks of the fighting, the only regional capital to have fallen to the invaders. The city was liberated on November 11, 2022, however, the bulk of the Kherson Region located on the other side of the Dnipro River remains under the control of the occupation forces.

Stragglers

Infiltration by Russian saboteurs is not the only problem faced by Ukrainian authorities in the liberated territories.

A Russian soldier, who had been hiding in abandoned buildings since he was abandoned by his comrades as they fled the Ukrainian counteroffensive in September, was detained in the town of Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, Kharkiv Region, in the northeast of the country.

The man was stopped by officers of the Kharkiv regional police’s special branch. Upon searching the man, it was established that the 42-year-old is a Russian soldier from Moscow attached to the 27th Motor Rifle Brigade.

The town of Kupiansk Vuzlovyi had a pre-war population of 8,000 and has been under Russian occupation since February 27, 2022. It was liberated during the course of the September counteroffensive carried out by Ukrainian forces in the Kharkiv Region.