Kherson was occupied by Russia for 256 days until the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the city on November 11, 2022.
During the retreat, the Russian army destroyed or damaged as many utilities as possible. As a result, Kherson and the oblast towns and villages are left without electricity, light, water supply, and communication.
Kherson residents are joining their efforts to help each other.
Iuliia and Anastasiia met during the occupation. They went to pro-Ukrainian rallies together, and now they go to get water together.
“We came to a cafe. We drank a little bit to reduce a stress, we were always stressed. Iulia proposed to sing the Red Viburnum song. It was in the center, and they (the occupiers) visited this place very often. One guy started filming. We were a little afraid, but we did it. It was in the summer during the occupation”, tells Anastasiia.
Oleksandr, an entrepreneur, invites everyone to charge devices from his generator and take water from his well.
“We have been living like this for 5 days already. Now we have problems with gasoline for the generator, but it’s okay, we will go through it. The main thing is to survive and stay healthy. We will go through the hardship and Ukraine will win,” says Oleksandr.
Oleksandr says that people were tortured in basements for their pro-Ukrainian views. Militants from the “LDPR” tried to evict him and his family from their home to accommodate their military. There is a video on Oleksandr’s phone where he and his father are kneeling down and begging the militants not to kill them.
“My father and I were truckers in the past, and we have our own grain trucks. When the war started, we decided that we wouldn’t work with them. We did not work for eight months, did not transport grain either within the oblast or to Crimea, because we were not going to make money on blood. When the Russians were leaving, one of local residents told them that we had vehicles. Bearded uncles came, tortured my family for two days forcing us to give them the keys. They took 12 trucks from us and said: “You should have worked with us and everything would have been fine,” Oleksandr recalls.
“That’s what played a big role in this war, the Himars. I made all these on my own.”
A phone charging point and free internet access have been set up at the train station so that people can contact their families.
Nataliia works at the train station.
“The station was occupied almost from the beginning. The Russians shelled the administration and the main entrance. They stayed at the station for ten days, and then just left, but people were not allowed to go inside. They hung their flags. Then they wanted to launch their train. They even announced that the train would depart to Crimea on July 1. They even made some repairs here. But the train never went.”
Svitlana, a pensioner, came to the station to find out the latest news.
“It is very good that the occupiers are gone. I am texting to everyone that we have no electricity, no light, but we are very happy because the Armed Forces of Ukraine stay with us,” says Svitlana.
