Vladimir Putin says civilians still living in the Ukrainian province of Kherson must be "evacuated" from the conflict zone.
There are suggestions Russian forces may be preparing to abandon the city, which is just north of Crimea.
But there's a possibility it's a tactical manoeuvre by Moscow.
Dr Alexandra Walmsley is Defence Analyst at the Royal United Services Institute in the UK:
"Does this mean that he really is ready to accept that the Russians are losing control of the city? Or is he trying to draw the Ukrainians in, where they could get hemmed in by the Dnipro River - a very strategic crossing point and lull them into a trap?"
