Kherson: Russian-occupied city stays angry and defiant

More than a fortnight after falling under Russian occupation, residents of Kherson are battling severe medicine shortages and holding daily protests against Kremlin forces. They also worry that increased shelling on the outskirts could signal the start of a Ukrainian push to recapture their southern city, which is a key port.

A series of loud explosions rattled the windows of Yuri Stelmashenko’s office in a government building in central Kherson on Tuesday afternoon, while the city’s deputy mayor was on a phone call, busy explaining that they had the less than a week’s supply of food and medicine. .

“Can you hear the shelling outside? Not far away. Unfortunately, we have to get used to this terrifying reality,” Stelmashenko said calmly.

“We are seeing a real humanitarian catastrophe here,” he said.

“We have been left here alone, there is no other legitimate authority besides the mayor. Russian officials came to our office and we agreed that we would continue working. But it is not clear how long it will continue.”

There have been reports that Russia could organize a referendum in Kherson on independence from Ukraine, as they previously did in Crimea after its annexation in 2014, as well as in the Russian-backed breakaway areas of Donetsk and Luhansk.

But Stelmashenko rejected the idea of ​​this happening in his city, saying it was clear there was no support for Moscow’s actions among the largely Russian-speaking population.

Video footage showing a small pro-Russian rally in Kherson has been dismissed as a Kremlin propaganda stunt by locals.

In nearby streets, there were queues to buy milk and frustration at local pharmacies, which have reportedly run out of most essential medicines.

“There are no medicines left for people with heart problems or asthma. Hospitals are working, but there are just no medicines,” said one doctor, speaking by phone. She asked that we only use her first name, Galina.

“No one is starving here,” said a local university professor, Lada Danik, who praised the mayor’s office for focusing on trying to support the city’s residents without coming across as endorsing the Russian occupation.

“The situation is quite stable. We have electricity, water, central heating and transportation.”

But Danik condemned officials in other occupied cities that have submitted to Russian rule. “If they want to make our city Russian, then it’s treason,” he said.

In Melitopol to the east, the Ukrainian mayor was kidnapped by Russian forces last week and has not been seen since.

A pro-Russian local official, Danila Galinchenko, has now claimed that she is the new mayor of Melitopol and recorded a video message urging residents to “adapt … to the new realities, so that we can start living in a new way.”

But in Kherson, thousands of residents, including Danik, continue to participate in daily peaceful protests outside government offices in the city center.

Video footage shows large crowds chanting “fascists… have you no shame?” and “go home” to the Russian troops.

“The number of soldiers is increasing. But now they are not military. They wear a different gray uniform. Like a kind of police,” Danik said.

“There were so many people at today’s protests that Russian troops started shooting in the air. It seemed to me that they were afraid. He was yelling at them: ‘Go home, go to your mother.’ Two of [the Russian soldiers] they were laughing. He was really furious, so he just yelled some bad words.

“I’m not an activist, but I want people to understand what’s going on here. I’m in my homeland, I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m trying to protect my daughter.”

To the east, another key city, Mykolaiv, has so far managed to contain a Russian advance.

Mykolaiv Governor Vitaliy Kim hinted that Ukrainian forces near Mykolaiv were also seeking to recapture Kherson.

“Fighting is taking place, clearing several villages. [of Russian forces]…The occupiers are fleeing, and people say that the troops are fleeing. It’s true. They run,” she said in a social media post.

“Residents of Kherson, we are with you. Wait! Together we will be victorious.”