Brazilian futsal player Claudinho Garcia, who plays for Ukrainian club Prodexim, is in the city of Kherson, the first city occupied by Russia in the war.
In an interview with CNNhe reported that this Friday (4) was one of the calmest days, that he managed to go to the market, but that he went through critical periods in the last few days and that the state of alert is constant.
“There are tanks everywhere in the streets, Russian soldiers everywhere. There is this fear because we don’t know what can happen, we are at risk when going out on the street, but we need food, for example,” he said.
According to the athlete, the Russian army faced a lot of resistance from civilians, who “tried to stop and clashed, with Molotov cocktails, and were killed.”
He also reinforced that, even during periods of apparent tranquility, the military “make psychological torture”: “Last night, bombs exploded all over the city, so the population would not be calm.”
Another difficulty, according to Claudinho, is for basic services. Today, for example, if he needs any medicine, he will face queues at pharmacies that go around the block, “even with orders from Russian soldiers to serve no more than two people, there are very long lines.”
The mayor of Kherson, Ihor Kolykhaiev, is also the president of the club where the player plays. He says that the politician made an agreement with the Russians, so that they would not attack the city, which is a port city, not a military one.
“Markets were then back up and running, but with a shortage of food, as the Russian army invaded markets, appliance stores to loot, there were days of movie scenes, something I never imagined happening.”
Photos – See images of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Claudinho Garcia is in Russia on his second visit, this time 1 year and 9 months ago. There are three Brazilians at the club and they are all together, including for an eventual departure from Ukraine.
He recalled that the entire local population did not believe that there could be an invasion. “They didn’t have this notion of imminent attack. The city is close to the Russian border, and we didn’t have a chance to leave.”
“We want [deixar a Ucrânia]but cannot find a possibility at this point.”
The athlete and the other Brazilians are in contact with the Brazilian embassy and with a humanitarian group called Frente BrazUcra to evaluate the paths.
“The best option now was to stay at home, safely. We stayed in a bunker at the coach’s house for two days. There were air strikes and people were hit on the roads. So we chose to stay here.”
“One possibility is the humanitarian corridor, to take out foreigners, we are waiting for the right moment to leave,” he said.
Claudinho stated that he wants to return to Brazil as soon as possible. “My only wish is to hug my mom and my friends and show that I’m okay.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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