Andrii, a resident of Kherson: “I would not have thought that the city would be liberated so quickly and without street fighting.”
The residents of Herson now have reason to celebrate. Hundreds of townspeople gathered in the central square over the weekend. They did not hesitate to declare their joy that the city has passed into the hands of Ukrainian forces.
33-year-old resident of Kherson Andrii said that “the city has no electricity, no water, no heating, and no internet connection – but there are no more Russians either, and we are happy about that.”
Interviewed by the news agency Reuters, Andrii added that he was happy that Herson was not destroyed in the street fighting like Mariupol.
– The city will be fixed and everything will be in order. The most important thing is that Ukrainian power has been restored, said Andrii.
In the central square, the townspeople sang the Ukrainian national anthem, and many took selfies with the Ukrainian soldiers who were there.
When the heavy Russian military equipment seized by Ukraine was towed away, the crowd booed it.
Electricity and water are still missing
However, the practical problems are still great. City dwellers have to queue with water canisters for drinking water at distribution points, and washing water is even taken from the river.
The internet does not work, and a satellite car parked in the central square offered the townspeople one of the few connections.
Russia occupied Kherson since the beginning of the war. Now the residents need to be able to tell their relatives that they are fine.
Uncertainty has also been increased by the fact that before the withdrawal of its forces, Russia moved tens of thousands of people from the region to Crimea and other areas it still holds.
The danger is mines and cannon fire
The townspeople tell about the robberies and sneaky things done by the Russians. 25 years old Oleh Nazarenko told Reuters news agency that especially young people were stopped and searched on the streets.
The everyday life of city dwellers will not be easy. Governor of Kherson region Yaroslav Janushevich reminded on Ukrainian television that the situation in the region is still very dangerous because Russia has mined important targets.
The 35-year-old singer interviewed by Reuters Yana Smirnova said that in Kherson they are still afraid of the Russian cannon on the eastern bank of the Dnieper.
Governor Janushevitch announced that, for security reasons, access to or from the city has been blocked for the time being, and a night curfew has been declared in Kherson.
However, according to the authorities, steps have already been taken to normalize life in the city, and train traffic is expected to resume this week.