Ukraine works to stabilize Kherson
Local residents cheer Russian retreat
PRAVDYNE (AFP) — Ukrainians on Saturday hailed Russia’s retreat from Kherson, as Kyiv said it was working to demine the strategic southern city, record Russian crimes and restore power across the region.
Kherson was one of four regions in Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to have annexed in September.
But weeks later, the Russian retreat from the city of Kherson has boosted Ukrainian resistance after nearly nine months of fighting and hardship.
In the formerly occupied village of Pravdyne, outside Kherson, returning locals embraced their neighbors, with some unable to hold back tears.
“Victory, finally!” said Svitlana Galak, who lost her eldest daughter in the war.
Disabled anti-tank mines as well as grenades could be seen in the settlement that is home to a Polish Roman Catholic church and a number of damaged buildings.
Speaking from Kherson city center, Yaroslav Yanushevych, head of the regional state administration, said everything was being done to “return normal life” to the area.
While demining is carried out, a curfew has been put in place and movement in and out of the city has been limited, Yanushevych explained in a video posted to social media, in which people could be seen celebrating in the background.
Images distributed by the Ukrainian military showed Kherson residents dancing around a bonfire singing “Chervona Kalyna,” a patriotic song.
“All of us are elated,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday, a day after declaring that the Black Sea city was back in Kyiv’s hands.
Kherson city was the first major urban hub to fall after Russia invaded in February.
“Before fleeing Kherson, the occupiers destroyed all critical infrastructure — communication, water supply, heat, electricity,” Zelenskyy said, adding that nearly 2,000 explosives had been removed.
He said Ukraine’s forces had established control over more than 60 set- tlements in the Kherson region.
After an eight-month Russian occupation, Ukrainian television resumed broadcasting in the city and the region’s energy provider said it was working to restore the power supply.
Ukraine’s head of national police Ihor Klymenko said around 200 officers were erecting roadblocks and recording “crimes of the Russian occupiers.”