MOSCOW, May 24. /TASS/. A Russian military base might be deployed in the Kherson Region, a top local official told TASS, adding that no corresponding decision has yet been made.
Media reported earlier that the authorities in the Kherson Region were planning to ask for a Russian military base in the southern Ukrainian region.
"We have no such plans at the moment, but the scenario is possible in the future. The plans are up to the Defense Ministry that would coordinate with us. I haven’t got such information yet," said Kirill Stremousov, Deputy Head of the region’s Military-Civilian Administration.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in mid-March that the Kherson Region was totally under control of the Russian troops, and a military-civilian administration was formed in the region in late April. The local authorities also declared their willingness to join Russia.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a special military operation in Ukraine in response to a request for help from the leaders of the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, but aimed to demilitarize and denazify the country. Russia’s top brass reported later that Russian troops were not delivering strikes against Ukrainian cities. It emphasized that Ukrainian military infrastructure was being destroyed by precision weapons and that civilians faced no threat.