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Chiem Baldouk
Foreign publisher
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Chiem Baldouk
Foreign publisher
Ukraine launched with high expectations the end of august an offensive in the Kherson region, occupied by Russia. After about two and a half weeks, a few villages have been liberated, but the crucial port city itself is still out of reach. While Russia sent reinforcements to Kherson, Ukraine managed to retake thousands of square kilometers elsewhere, in the Kharkov region.
What do residents of Kherson notice about the Ukrainian counteroffensive?
“Here in the city, it seems like nothing has changed,” said Serhii, who is not mentioned by his full name for security reasons. “Russian soldiers are always everywhere. They seem a bit nervous, but they have been for months.” Since the takeover of the city by the Russians, Russian soldiers and collaborators have been the target of attacks by Ukrainian partisans. “That’s why they are suspicious.”
Oleg (pseudonym) is terrified, he says via Telegram. “We just don’t know what is going to happen and how the Russians are going to treat us. They are reckless and very dangerous.”
People fear that ‘Butsha’ and ‘Irpin’ are repeated.
It is risky for people in the occupied territories to talk to Western journalists because of possible reprisals. Compared to the previous articles on life in occupied territory Fewer and fewer people seem ready to take this risk. Some have even cut off all contact with family in free parts of Ukraine for their safety, according to conversations with refugee residents, who cannot speak to relatives at this time.
“People are afraid that the Russian soldiers will repeat ‘Butsha’ and ‘Irpin’ if they withdraw,” Serhii said, referring to the random shooting of civilians out of possible revenge for the loss of territories.
“Our city is several times bigger, so I hope nothing like that will happen here. I’m also afraid of what will happen after the liberation: they will probably shoot at our city from a distance, as they have done with Mykolaiv and Kharkov.”
Discarded newspapers
The Ukrainian offensive has the ‘Russification‘ of the region has stopped. Preparations for a referendum on joining Russia are abandoned. According to the residents of the city, the occupation authorities failed to cooperate with the population. “Russian passports were distributed for a fee. Pro-Russian newspapers were also printed, but they were simply thrown away,” says Serhii.
Pro-Russian billboards and posters were hung all over the city. Initially, they were vandalized or covered in paint, according to images circulating on social media. “But now there are too many, and people don’t dare to do it anymore.”
This is what the billboards look like:
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Serhii / NOS
There are posters in the city propagating that Kherson is part of Russia -
Serhii / NOS
An advertising poster for a Russian passport
Russians make little effort to please the people, says Serhii. “They tell us they hate us and we’re not human. A while ago troops with a Z symbol were replaced by soldiers with a V decal and they’re even more brutal.” According to him, members of Chechen leader Kadyrov’s brigade were also transferred to the city. “For deterrence and to make sure the Russian army doesn’t leave.”
Rumors of surrender
Dutchman Leo de Lange lived in Kherson, but leak the city this summer. He hears messages of hope from acquaintances in town. “Not a bullet has been fired in recent days, the first since the start of the offensive.” According to him, this indicates that negotiations are taking place between the warring parties. “That way the Russians can withdraw without coming under fire.”
A Ukrainian military spokesman said on Monday that “some Russian troops” in the Kherson region are negotiating their surrender. No evidence was provided. Analysts have pointed out that it could be psychological warfare to demotivate other Russian troops.
Nieuwsuur recently spoke with a member of the Kherson underground resistance, blogger Konstantin Ryzhenko:
“Cooperation with the Secret Service”
Daily life becomes more difficult due to lack of food. The Ukrainian army has bridges over the Dnieper destroyed, leaving the Russian troops “stranded” on the west bank, but it also made the city’s food supply considerably more difficult. “The locals were prepared for that, so I think the Russians are more bothered by that,” says De Lange.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces have yet to recapture a major city like Kherson in the recent offensive. Still, resident Serhii is confident in how the city will be taken back. “Ukraine is attacking very precisely. We have already had a number of attacks in the area, but always exactly on a building where Russians were,” he says proudly. Is it enough for the reconquest? “Who knows.”
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