A sense of relief and hope of victory overwhelmed the Ukrainian city of Kherson after the retreat of the Russian army. But joy was mixed this weekend with horror for the destruction and the dire humanitarian situation left by the soldiers.
Images of watermelons, Kherson’s flagship product and almost trademark, and videos of crowds of citizens with national flags marching through the liberated city flooded social networks and the media.
Ukrainians celebrate the liberation of the only major regional center that Russia has captured since it began invading the country more than eight months ago.
The relief and renewed confidence in the liberation of all occupied territories is palpable. But many Ukrainians are aware of the enormous challenge ahead of them.
Winter without electricity or gas
Olga Afanasieva, a displaced resident of Kherson, explains to EFE agency that her main concern now is how all the people who cannot survive the harsh winter will be evacuated in that city so punished.
“There is no electricity, no water, no fuel,” adds her friend Liudmyla, who sends her an audio message as she moves around the city looking for a connection signal for her cell phone.
Kherson is in fact under Ukrainian control, but the authorities invite the residents of the city displaced by the war to wait until it’s safe to come back.
According to the deputy head of the regional council, Yuriy Sobolevskyi, a search for mines will be carried out in the coming days and the remaining Russian soldiers will be missing.
About 200 Ukrainian policemen are already in the city, deployed at checkpoints established at all its entrances, the head of the national police, Igor Klymenko, said this weekend.
This was stated by the field manager of the DTEK electricity supplier, Dmytro Saharuk the electric power system was totally destroyed by the Russian troops in his retreat. It will take a month to fully recover “under the optimistic scenario,” she warns.
Water shortage
City mayor adviser Roman Golovnya also explained on Ukrainian television that the humanitarian situation in the city is “difficult”.
Lack of water is the most pressing problem, since its supply is totally cut off deliberate destruction of the Russians in his retreat.
Despite this, some vehicles with humanitarian aid have arrived in the city, he adds.
According to sources in the national resistance movement, some 15,000 pieces were allegedly looted from the Kherson Art Museum and other cultural institutions, to be transferred to Simferopol, in an area occupied by the Russians.
The well-known Ukrainian journalist Olga Tokariuk explained through her Twitter account that the joy for the liberation of the city faded when she realized the high price paid for it.
There he recalled the torture chambers and mass graves revealed after the withdrawal in the formerly occupied regions. And he warns that similar discoveries are to be expected in Kherson, where initial resistance has been very strong.
Russian troops could also launch a massive new missile and drone strike on Ukraine on the eve of or during the November 15-16 G-20 Indonesia summit, Air Force Command spokesman Yuriy Ignat warned, on space Ukrainian television “United News “.
“They like to do some kind of provocation on days like this,” he said, noting that Russia has run out of long-range missiles despite attempts to ramp up their production.
The Georgian Legion, one of the largest international military units of the Ukrainian army, has called on the population, via Twitter, not to ignore the air alerts in the coming days and recalled that the Russians usually compensate for their “military impotence by terrorizing the population civilian population”.
“Today is a happy day, but the war is not over yet. Russia will react against Ukrainian civilians in the coming days, there is no doubt,” insists journalist Tokariuk.
Source: EFE
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Source: Clarin
