Kherson Oblast (, ), also known as Khersonshchyna (, ), is an oblast (province) in southern Ukraine. It is located just north of Crimea. Its administrative center is Kherson, on the west bank of the Dnieper which bisects the oblast. The area of the region is 28,461 km2 and the population It is considered the 'fruit basket' of the country, as much of its agricultural production is dispersed throughout the country, with production peaking during the summer months. Most of the area of the oblast has been under Russian military occupation since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Territory in the northwest, including Kherson city, was recaptured by Ukraine in the southern counteroffensive. On 30 September 2022, Russia annexed the Donetsk (Donetsk People's Republic), Luhansk (Luhansk People's Republic), Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson Oblasts. However, the referendums and subsequent annexations are internationally unrecognized. History 20th century During the 1991 referendum, 90.13% of votes in Kherson Oblast were in favor of the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine. 21st century A survey conducted in December 2014 by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found that 90.9% of the oblast's population opposed their region joining Russia, 1% did support the idea, and the rest were undecided or did not respond. Russian invasion Since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February, Russian forces have occupied most of the oblast, with government by the "Kherson military–civilian administration" from 28 April to 30 September. On 27 July 2022 the Ukrainian army destroyed the Antonovsky Bridge, as part of its wider campaign to isolate the Russian 49th Combined Arms Army on the right bank of the Dnieper river. On 31 August it was reported that the defenders of the occupied Kherson territory were the 49th Combined Arms Army and what was left of the 35th Combined Arms Army. On 5 September it was announced that the newly-installed Russian administration had postponed its plans to hold a referendum on the planned secession from Ukraine. The plebiscite had been scheduled to occur on 11 September, in order to coincide with the Russian electoral calendar. Due to the contestation of the oblast by the Ukrainian forces, it was found to be impractical to hold at this time. On 23–27 September 2022, the Russian Federation held referendums in the occupied territories of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts for "independence and subsequent entry into the Russian Federation", recognized by most states to