Ukraine’s greatest victory becomes another victim of Putin’s invasion
IT WAS one of the greatest victories of the war. Ukrainian troops marched through the streets of Kherson, waving their nation’s flag high above their heads in awe of what they had achieved.
Children wrapped in yellow and blue raced into their arms and women threw endless streams of flowers into the air.
At the time, many of those who had lived under Russia’s occupation described the day Ukraine liberated the city as the best moment of their lives. But as the second anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion approaches, some fear their freedom may be short-lived as Russia’s forces are on the front foot again after making their first major gain since May.
One soldier who helped Ukraine liberate Kherson told The Telegraph he worries about the possibility of Russia seizing the city once more, undoing all of the work built on heavy sacrifices.
“There is always a chance. Russia has a large population and a very strong and large army. It is a difficult opponent, so everything depends solely on us,” he said.
“I hope someday I will be able to come to the anniversary and celebrate. Now I am continuing my journey in the war. Glory to Ukraine.”
The Telegraph reconnected with people who previously spoke out about living under Russia’s occupation and found a disconnect with their liberated city. Many have fled to safer parts of Ukraine. Just 71,000 of the city’s pre-war population of 300,000 remain.
Yar Linscky, a 20-year-old student, visited Kherson over the summer but found that the city he remembered had long disappeared.
“I just smiled with nostalgia and cried with grief. What has become of my city? Now Kherson is being shelled, the places of my childhood and my warmth are being destroyed. To live under occupation and war is to be dead in a living body.”
Kherson was seized by Russia in the early days of the war, becoming the first urban centre to fall into Putin’s grasp. A puppet government was installed, Russian TV broadcast daily and the use of Ukrainian currency was discouraged. Under the occupation, even ordering a coffee in Ukrainian became a crime.
Ukraine rolled back Russia’s troops on Nov 11 2022, in one of the country’s biggest successes in the war.
Volodymyr Zelensky triumphantly walked the streets in the days that followed, hailing the win as the “beginning of the end of the war”. Many hoped that it would be followed by more swift victories.
Today, Russian troops remain on the left bank of the Dnipro River with water the only barrier between them and Kherson.
Ukraine was forced to retreat from the city of Avdiivka in Donetsk over the weekend, marking the first major loss in months, as Kyiv warns over dwindling weapons supplies.
Residents of Kherson have become so familiar with the crackle of gunfire, whistling of missiles and crashes of them hitting their homes that silence is disconcerting.
Di, who chose to keep her identity secret for safety fears, said: “I feel normal during shelling. On the contrary, I feel uneasy when it is quiet. My psyche has adapted to explosions and it’s just not used to being quiet. My body has adapted to these realities.”
Between 40-80 shells of different varieties are thought to land in Kherson city daily, according to officials.
Anton Tatochenko, 24, said that living in Kherson was now “like a permanent lottery game, where the max prize is life”. He said this state of jubilation lasted just one week after they were liberated before the realities of the war sunk back in.
“Now, of course, everything feels different – people are simply tired.”
Although the city’s streets were packed full of crowds on Nov 11, today the city remains a ghost town.
Photographs show piles of rubble left behind and deserted streets. The centre of Kherson is too close to the ongoing fighting for locals to feel safe.
Evhen Spichak, 36, believes the war will not leave the psyche of the people of Kherson because of the sheer devastation the occupation wrought.
He grieves daily over the loss of his brother, who he did not discover was dead until after he had been buried in a mass grave.
“I believe that Kherson has truly become a victim of this war,” he said. “My life changed irreversibly.”
‘To live under occupation and war is to be dead in a living body’