Testimony

Ukraine: in Kherson, "they surrounded us and took us hostage"

Residents of Kherson, the first regional capital conquered by Russia in Ukraine, demonstrate against the occupation, March 5, 2022. © Twitter @ukraine_world

Text by: Sophia Khatsenkova Follow

4 mins

On March 2, Kherson, in southern Ukraine, became the first major city conquered by the Russian army.

Controlled by troops from Moscow, cut off from the rest of the country, and despite the difficulties of daily life, the city organized itself in peaceful resistance mode.

Interview with a resident of Kherson hostile to the Russian presence.

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Not a single day goes by in Kerson without a demonstration to denounce the occupation.

But residents are seeing the situation deteriorate.

According to the Ukrainian authorities, 400 people were arrested on March 9.

Natacha (her first name has been changed), is a resident of the city.

She takes part every day in demonstrations against the Russian occupation.

She agreed to testify.

RFI: What is the situation in Kherson

Natacha:

 All supply routes are blocked, so no food or medicine deliveries can arrive in the city.

This is one of the most worrying points, because supplies are dwindling and most of our time is spent in long queues to buy food or medicine.

For three days, we lived without a telephone network.

The two giants are Vodafone and KievStar.

Vodafone has just been restored, but KievStar still does not work.

Another internet giant was cut on Wednesday.

This is problematic, as many use it.

Banks are closed, it is impossible to withdraw money.

We still sometimes manage to pay with the credit card, but it becomes more and more complicated.

People are almost out of cash and as you can imagine if stores stop accepting the card it will be another disaster.

In addition, prices have exploded, it's absurd...

Finally, it is impossible to leave or enter Kherson.

That's why we're asking for a humanitarian corridor, because if you try to leave the city, you get shot at by Russian troops.

►Read also: War in Ukraine: humanitarian corridors as a weapon of war

RFI: How are the demonstrations organised

When we went out to demonstrate for the first time, our slogan was: “ 

 ”.

Our demonstration has inspired other similar rallies in other cities in the region.

But if our first demonstrations were not suppressed by Russian forces, this was not the case in a town not far from here.

Russian troops used tear gas and even shot protesters with rubber bullets.

Since then, there have been demonstrations every day at 10 a.m. in the central square against the occupation.

Everything was peaceful, but yesterday we received the information that 400 people had been arrested.

We are asked to be particularly careful when moving, because the Russian national guard has just entered the city.

The soldiers have left, they are now fighting around Mykolaev.

We think that this Russian national guard will clean up the city and turn Kherson into a Russian city, with all that that implies.

► To read also: Ukraine: the inhabitants express their anger in the cities controlled by the Russian army

Are you afraid to go out to demonstrate now

Now, we are all afraid to go out to demonstrate, because we still do not know on what criteria they arrest people.

Do they have blacklists or do they randomly arrest people?

It is still unclear who was arrested, exactly.

According to my information, blacklists are already circulating with the names of activists and protest organizers.

I am sure of it: I am already on this list, because I am an activist.

In any case, we are preparing for the worst.

How do you explain that the Russian troops did not repress the demonstrations during the first days

You have to understand that many of us took part in it, it was one of the biggest demonstrations ever organized in the city.

It is also necessary to understand that Kherson has become a kind of base for the Russian army, for supplies and rest.

They didn't destroy that many important buildings and infrastructure.

Of course, there was some shelling and shooting, but no massive destruction of the city.

They surrounded us and took us hostage.

We feel that with the National Guard which has just arrived, their goal is not to raze the city, but rather to orchestrate a real occupation.

One gets the impression that the Kremlin's goal is to cut Kherson off from the rest of Ukraine and annex it.

Afterwards, how and when they will do it, we have no idea... But the fact that they have already started arresting hundreds of people is not a good sign.

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