Empty streets, shuttered shops as Russian-held Kherson braces for battle

People walk along a street next to the banner reading "The choice is made. Kherson is Russia", in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the city of Kherson, Russian-controlled Ukraine October 31, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

KHERSON, Russian-controlled Ukraine (Reuters) - The streets and boulevards of the Russian-held port of Kherson in southern Ukraine are virtually empty. Many shops and businesses have been shuttered and, at a jetty on the banks of the Dnipro River, a handful of people board a ferry to leave.

As Ukrainian forces advance to the north and east of the strategic city, Russian-installed officials there have evacuated tens of thousands of civilians in recent weeks.