A hail of machine-gun fire erupted as Andriy Abba’s family made a toast to celebrate his 30th birthday in Kherson, Ukraine. Wineglass in hand, he ran with his parents and younger brother to the basement.
Outside, Russian troops were occupying their city – the first to fall to Moscow since the bloody invasion began about a week ago.
As the day wore on, Abba said, the noise of bullets and the thud of the explosion began to subside. Around midnight, silence fell over the city.
“And that’s when we knew,” Abba told CNN. “It was very sad.”
Kherson, a major port city on the Black Sea in southern Ukraine, was invaded by Russian forces in the early hours of Wednesday (2), after days of heavy bombing. The Ukrainian flag was still flying from government buildings, and the city’s mayor, Ihor Kolykhaiev, remained in his post.
On Saturday, Kolykhaiev announced that Russian troops were everywhere, and the city of nearly 300,000 people was without power and water, and in desperate need of humanitarian aid.
Kolykhaiev said Russian forces had “settled” in the city and showed no signs of leaving. “We have many people here in need. We have cancer patients. Children who need medication. This medication is not getting to them,” he told CNNadding that the Russians wanted to send help, but the villagers were refusing.
People living in Russian-occupied Kherson describe days of terror confined to their apartments and homes, afraid to leave even for basic necessities.
Checkpoints manned by Russian troops fill the city’s streets, five Kherson residents told CNN in recent phone calls. The roads are practically empty because the inhabitants have fled the fighting or are indoors for fear of encountering Russian soldiers. Supermarkets have been emptied and medicines are running low, residents and officials said.
Russian troops have surrounded the city and are shooting anyone who tries to leave, according to residents, including a senior local health official, who CNN is not naming for security reasons.
Even if we wanted to evacuate women and children from here, it is simply impossible. They shoot anyone who tries to leave
Andriy Abba, resident of Kherson
On Thursday, Russian forces shot two men at a checkpoint after they tried to pass, killing one and seriously injuring the other, the official told CNN.
Russian troops also banned ambulances from leaving the city’s perimeters to reach villages in the province, according to the official. A woman undergoing long and dangerous labor on the outskirts of the city had to resort to a panicked video consultation with her doctor because Russian forces blocked a medical team trying to help with the delivery, the official said.
“After about a day of local authorities begging the Russians, the mother and child were allowed to pass to the hospital,” the official said. “It was horrible.”
Andriy Abba, who works as a tax lawyer, says he is determined to remain in Kherson, regardless of the occupation, as long as the Ukrainian flag remains flying over government buildings.
“Even if we wanted to evacuate women and children from here, it is simply impossible,” he added. “They shoot anyone who tries to leave.”
Ukrainian authorities have been working to establish the safe exit of civilians from besieged areas in ongoing negotiations with Moscow. Russia agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday from 9 am Kiev time and create humanitarian corridors allowing residents to escape the southern cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha – being the first tangible sign of cooperation.
But the deal quickly fell through, halting evacuations, Ukrainian officials said. The government accused Russian forces of bombing cities and even attacking evacuation corridors.
“Besieged cities that are being destroyed” are “living the worst days,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement on Saturday.
“Humanitarian corridors must work today in Mariupol and Volnovakha. To save people. Women, children, elderly. To give food and medicine to those who stay.”
Yulia Alekseeva, a mother of a two-month-old baby, said she is struggling to find diapers and other baby products. “Catastrophically, there are few people in the city. We also have a grandmother with dementia who is constantly in need of diapers and medication, which is also not available,” she told CNN.
We’re in hiding. There is a curfew in the city, if people go out after eight at night, they shoot to kill
Yulia Alekseeva, resident of Kherson
Like most townspeople, Alekseeva takes shelter in the basement with her family, leaving the house only to get basic necessities.
“We are in hiding. There’s a curfew in town, if people leave after eight o’clock they shoot to kill. You can move in the company of no more than two people,” she said.
But she remains defiant, adding: “The Ukrainian flag is still on Kherson, the city has not surrendered to the invaders. The military said not to provoke them and they will all be alive.”
On Saturday, a large crowd of protesters took to the busy streets of Kherson, waving Ukrainian flags and coming face to face with Russian forces. Troops appeared to fire live bullets into the air to disperse the crowd, a video posted on social media showed.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba shared footage of the scenes on Twitter, praising the protesters. “The courageous people of Kherson inspire Ukraine and the world! Thousands of peaceful Ukrainians protest against the Russian occupation in front of armed Russian soldiers. What a spirit,” he wrote on Saturday.
Courageous Kherson inspires Ukraine and the world! Thousands of peaceful Ukrainians protest Russian occupation in front of armed Russian soldiers. What a spirit. I call on everyone around the globe: express your support for the fearless Ukrainians in Kherson! #CourageousKherson pic.twitter.com/olZoMs6ebm
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 5, 2022
From her apartment in Kherson, where she takes care of her grandmother, Svetlana Zorina told CNN that he would stay in the city “as long as the Ukrainian flag is up and the mayor is Ukrainian”. On Friday, she went to the supermarket only to find empty shelves and then headed to her mother’s apartment, which is abroad, where she collected pasta and rice.
“We are here too afraid to become part of Russia. We don’t want history to repeat itself like in Crimea,” she said, referring to Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014. “We are less afraid of being under bombs than of becoming part of Russia.”
It’s something Abba is convinced won’t happen in his city. Although consumed by fears of Russian annexation, he argued that, in contrast to Crimea, which fell relatively bloodlessly, Kherson put up strong resistance to the occupation.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
