Forty-six settlements have been de-occupied in Kherson region, but it is still desirable for the population to evacuate to safer regions until the region is completely liberated, said Dmytro Butriy, acting head of Kherson Regional Military Administration.

"Forty-six settlements have already been de-occupied in Kherson region today, most of them are in the north [of the region], which borders on Dnipropetrovsk region and a little in the south, on the border with Mykolaiv region," Butriy said at an online briefing on Monday.

According to Butriy, on the de-occupied territory "there are villages that are almost 90% destroyed - they are still under constant shelling today, the population has mostly left."

Butriy stressed that the situation in Kherson region is critical. He once again urged residents to evacuate to safer regions.

"In order to protect yourself, I ... recommend evacuating to safer territories before the liberation of the region," Butriy said.