When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi visited Kherson on Monday, he sang the national anthem alongside civilians and soldiers, while Ukrainian flags flew from balconies.
The joy is great in the liberated city, but the memories of the roughly eight months under Russian occupation have etched themselves on the retinas of many residents.
- They told me that it was like a reign of terror, it reminded me of how people described IS.
The Russian soldiers could go around in the evenings and point machine guns at people and fire at cars to mark their presence when the curfew came into effect, says SVT's foreign reporter Elin Jönsson, who visited the city earlier on Monday together with photographer Lars Lyrefelt.
Concern about new artillery shelling
There is also a concern among the residents that the Russian forces will return to the city or that it will be subjected to new artillery shelling.
- When we were there, we heard very clearly that there was fighting going on.
It is very close, and it is clear that people still feel worried, says Elin Jönsson.
The traces of the Russian occupation are numerous.
There is a major shortage of electricity, water and other necessities.
- There was a lack of most things, but when we asked people about it, they just said "oh, that doesn't matter.
If you live under occupation, you discover that the hot water and electricity thing is not really that important".