Kherson is afraid of silence, shots greeted: the ghost city is waiting for the Armed Forces
Journalists contacted one of the occupied city residents through third parties shortly before the occupation administration announced evacuation before the Armed Forces counter -offensive. According to the woman, many residents were preparing for departure. "Everyone has their own reasons, anxieties and fears. But I am 100% sure that no one wanted to go," a citizen explained, whose name for security reasons is not called. According to her, Kherson became a ghost.
Tens of thousands of residents left after the Russian occupation began in March. "In the evening you can see that houses are only 2-3 windows glowing. In the afternoon, people can mostly be found in the market. She does not want to go. "To be honest, this question is annoying . . . This is my land, Kherson is my house. We have participated in demonstrations against the occupiers from the first days of the war, we fought as much as possible. The battle is still ongoing," the woman said.
In the last few days, she has not heard of being forced to leave, but some people had difficulty to get Vasylivka in the neighboring Zaporizhzhia region, a single point of transition between territories under the control of Ukraine and the Russian Federation. It is unknown how everything will change after the recent orders of evacuation. According to a local resident, the atmosphere in the city is tense.
"People are emotionally exhausted, some simply do not get out of the house to avoid contact with the military. It is impossible to relax here. It is late in the evening when the house is passing by a car, I start nervous because the car is a bad sign," she said, adding, adding, adding, adding, adding, adding that most of those who left understand that the Ukrainian army "will never harm the population and will not shoot in civilians.
" While utilities in Kherson are working, but people are afraid of whether heating and energy will be in winter. "Everyone is afraid of the approaching winter," she said. At the same time, food in the city is enough. "Kherson has turned into a natural market, people sell everything. Someone bake homemade bread, someone - baking, someone sells their property right in the middle of the street," she explained.
But after the Russians have selected the boat from the population, it is not sure how the products will be delivered in the future. Medical supplies and baby food in the shortage and very expensive. Long queues to pharmacies. Antibiotics are not enough. "Everything that is being imported is now a Russian medicine. Medicines are sold just on the streets of cars or one of the people in a private manner," she said.
According to the interlocutor, she does not know whether she has increased, whether the number of Russian troops in the city has decreased, but noted that the contingent of Chechnya came from Chechnya. "I can not say that Russian soldiers have reduced, they can remove uniform and wear civilian clothes. Some people want in the streets in civilian, but with machine guns," - explained the resident, according to which she greets the sounds of shots. "Kherson residents are afraid of silence.
I remember that in the summer it was quiet for several days, and it seemed that Ukraine had forgotten us," she remembered. "We can constantly hear the armed forces of Ukraine firing the positions of the invaders. You simply cannot imagine how happy the locals are when they hear it," the woman explained. "From time to time in different parts fight". Recall that in the near future Russian troops do not plan to exit from Kherson, but are preparing for battle.