Evacuees from Kherson gather upon their arrival at the railway station in Dzhankoi, Crimea, Oct. 21, 2022. Russian authorities have encouraged residents of Kherson to evacuate, warning that the city may come under massive Ukrainian shelling. AP

Russian-installed authorities ordered all residents of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson to leave "immediately" Saturday ahead of an expected advance by Ukrainian troops waging a counteroffensive to recapture the occupied area.

In a Telegram post, the regional pro-Kremlin administration called on civilians to use boat crossings over the Dnieper River to move deeper into Russian-held territory, citing a tense situation on the front and the threat of shelling and alleged "terror attacks" by Kyiv.

Kherson has been in Russian hands since the early days of the invasion in February. The city is the capital of a region of the same name, one of four Russian President Vladimir Putin illegally annexed last month.

The region's Kremlin-backed authorities previously announced plans to evacuate all Russian-appointed officials and as many as 60,000 civilians across the river, in what local leader Volodymyr Saldo said would be an "organized, gradual displacement."

Ukrainian officials have urged local residents to resist attempts to relocate them, with one local official alleging that Moscow wanted to take civilians hostage and use them as human shields.

Putin signed a decree Wednesday imposing martial law on Kherson and three other regions in southern and eastern Ukraine he declared as Russian territory in defiance of international law.

Elsewhere, hundreds of thousands of people in central and western Ukraine woke up on Saturday to power outages and periodic bursts of gunfire, as Ukrainian air defense tried to shoot down drones and incoming missiles. Russia unleashed a barrage of missiles overnight — "a massive missile attack" that targeted "critical infrastructure," Ukraine's air force said in a statement Saturday.

Ukrainian officials confirmed at least half a dozen regions were targeted, including the capital city, Kyiv.

Russia has intensified its strikes on power stations, water supply systems and other key infrastructure across the country, the latest phase of the war as it nears the eight-month mark.

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