On the southern front, the Ukrainian army has been leading a counter-offensive towards Kherson since Monday, August 29. This regional capital bordering Crimea fell into Russian hands in the first week of the war. Further west, the large port city of Odessa participates, in its own way, in these operations.
With our special correspondents in Odessa, Boris Vichith and Anastasia Becchio
Ticket numbered in hand, dozens of people wait in front of a school transformed into a humanitarian aid center for the displaced.
” We have a lot of people coming to registerremarks the coordinator, Marina Semeniouk. These are people who have left the areas where there are bombardments, many come from Kherson… Yesterday, we had people from Nova Kakhovka. They arrived from the occupied regions, where the counter-offensive began. »
Ukrainian officials do not provide information on the ongoing counter-offensive. But Marina, she received requests that suggest that the fighting is fierce: “ there are many injured. We were asked to collect t-shirts, pants, slippers for field hospitals “, she explains.
Arrived from Kherson in the spring, Serguei Gordienko, 72, remains in contact with several of his friends who remained there. It’s hitting hard right now at home, reports the old man. But the hope that they will be freed keeps them going. They wait. »
The pensioner has no illusions: the battle is likely to be long, but “ everything will work out eventually. »
► To read also: Ukraine: in the Kherson region, pro-kyiv residents hope for an army counter-offensive