Russia is preventing civilians from leaving the occupied territories. Les, who fled Kherson, tells that Russian troops were inspecting the men’s tattoos at roadblocks.
Russian troops had banned civilians from leaving, but Les and his wife decided to try.
Their hometown of Kherson in southern Ukraine has been occupied by Russian troops since the beginning of the war, and in recent weeks the city has begun to be Russified.
The flags and symbols of Ukraine have been replaced by the flag of Russia. There have been allegations of the exchange of the Ukrainian currency, the hryvnia, for the Russian ruble.
The last rivet for Les and his wife was a cell phone crash. Last week, Russia began blocking the activities of Ukrainian subscriptions. It looks like an attempt is being made to connect the area to the Russian network.
– The internet crash was mentally difficult because I couldn’t read the news, I didn’t know what was going on, Les says.
knows his full name, but does not publish his last name for security reasons.
started keep in touch with Les in April. There are no international independent suppliers in occupied Kherson. Local journalists have had to flee or hide.
The only way to get information about the city is to message or call it.
On Saturday morning, Les put a message: “Hello Suvi, I hope you are well. We miraculously escaped from Kherson. ”
He put the message as soon as he had reached security in the Ukrainian-held territory.
The escape journey took 14 hours through field roads, required great risk-taking and bribery of a Russian soldier. With a bottle of vodka, like in a bad movie, Les says.
We arranged a call for the next day when he had time to sleep.
Les begins tell. The first task was to find a driver. They learned about a volunteer taking people out of Kherson while visiting to bring medicine to the occupied territory.
The ride had to be precise. Many acquaintances had lost money to scammers who took the money but did not offer a ride.
On the same ride with Les and his wife came a young woman with a six-year-old child and two men in their twenties. Six adults and one child were crammed into an ordinary car.
Les’ s guitar was also packed.
They set off at 5.30 in the morning.
Kherson there were a rare number of roadblocks in the city that morning. A probable cause later emerged: a Russian politician Andrej Turtšak was coming to visit.
Later, Turchak issued a statement that Kherson would remain under Russian rule forever.
– Russia will always stay here, there is no doubt about that, Turchak said according to the news agency AFP.
Before leaving, Les had begun to see changes in his hometown. Russia did not get ahead of the dreaded referendum, but the street image began to change.
On the morning of the escape day, Les saw billboards on Russia’s Victory Day along the streets. New people were also seen in the city.
– My mother noticed it first. People who are not locals have been brought to Kherson, Les says.
He describes the new residents as vague. Some seemed externally like Tituškis, the hooligans used by Russia in previous conflicts.
Lesi’s party set out to drive from the city towards Mykolaiv, the next major city in Ukraine. You have to take detours there because there are battles along the way.
The trip was full of roadblocks. Only some papers were inspected, all goods were inspected. The men had to reveal their upper bodies, Les says.
Russian soldiers are looking for tattoos or signs of service in the Ukrainian army. The use of weapons often leaves a mark on the arm or upper arm.
Russian soldiers checked the messaging apps and pictures on the phones. Les had emptied his cell phone of the messages before leaving.
At one checkpoint, a Russian soldier asked Les if he could take this carabiner? The carbine hook is a favorite hook for soldiers, on which heavy goods can be hung.
Les answered in the negative. The soldier then said: you can choose to either give the camera or give the clasp.
Les says there were different soldiers at different checkpoints. In the city of Kherson, roadblocks were clearly guarded by professional forces of the Russian army in uniforms.
Farther from the city, the guards at the checkpoints were more mixed. Some spoke about Ukraine. The Ukrainian administration has said that in 2014 Russia has brought residents from Crimea into Russian forces.
Les says the soldiers intimidated them, saying Ukrainian troops were firing on civilian cars coming from the area.
Russian troops also said they are now here to stay, why do you want to go to the Ukrainian side. Russian troops behaved as if the region were already a permanent part of Russia, Les describes.
The Les car group drove a long way along the field roads. At one point came a minibus that they first thought was a civilian car. Then they saw the letter Z on the side. The symbol used by Russia means Russian troops.
Russian troops stopped Les’s car.
– At this point they pointed the gun at the gun and right behind the driver this woman was sitting with her child. They told us to turn back, Les says.
The minibus left, but Les’s convoy didn’t turn around. They waited and then continued their journey.
Finally came Russia’s last checkpoint before the area under control. At that point, Les’s car reached a convoy of seven civilian cars.
The soldier on the roadblock did not let anyone through. He said permission should be asked higher.
– This is where the movie begins, Les says, referring to bribery.
The volunteer who drove Les’s car decided they could take the medication to a nearby village pending a decision.
When they came back, all the other civilian cars had been let through.
– The soldier started yelling at us if you were stupid when you left, Les says.
At that point, the driver of Les’s convoy began to negotiate. He ordered one of the riders to give the soldier a pack of tobacco. And a bottle of vodka was also found in the car for the soldier.
– We got permission to continue the journey and catch the civilian cars driving ahead, Les says.
There was in front the so-called gray area. An area where there were no Russian occupiers but not yet Ukrainian troops.
Les thinks the distance through the gray area was at least twenty miles, maybe more. There were no battles.
Ukraine’s roadblock finally came to the fore.
The woman on the ride, who was carrying a six-year-old child, began to cry in full force.
– The Ukrainian soldier had to reassure him, Les says.
Les and his wife changed rides and continued their journey to western Ukraine. There they were met by a 9-year-old girl from the family who was evacuated to safety before the occupation began.
There will be another message from Les in the evening.
– We’re here with our daughter. Everything is good now.