ALEXEY PAVLISHAK/Reuters
With Russian forces evacuating the occupied Ukrainian city of Kherson, local media on Thursday reported that Kremlin troops had blown up communications towers and abandoned checkpoints in the area before retreating.
Images shared on social media show what appears to be the twisted remains of destroyed towers in the partially-occupied Kherson Oblast on the western side of the Dnipro River.
Online observers have likened the alleged tactics of destroying civilian infrastructure as enemy forces approach to the infamous “Nero Decree” issued by Adolf Hitler in March 1945. The order—named after the Roman emperor who ruled during the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD—saw Nazi forces destroying key German infrastructure including transport and communication facilities to stop them falling into the hands of the Allies.