“Russian World” came to Kherson: there is no connection in the city, and on TV there is a display of propagandists
Kherson is the only regional center of Ukraine that Russian troops caught to seize a vaccine against the war. They control almost the entire region bordering Crimea. During the occupation, the Russians released water through the North Crimean Canal to the annexed peninsula, turned off mobile communications and started broadcasting Russian TV channels. A local journalist who remains in Kherson anonymously told Vot Tak about what is normal in the city.
Regional authorities announced that Russians have cut off mobile communications throughout the region. When did the network fail?
In the morning I still called my relatives, but now (the conversation took place at 15:00 Moscow time) there is no connection. I walked down the street, asking people: they also can’t get anywhere.
Kherson has been under occupation since March 1. How does the city live?
I can talk about the area where I am. It borders on the central part of the city. I don’t have a car, so I can’t move around Kherson. I can say that there are long queues at banks, shops and pharmacies. I was at the bakery today and was surprised to be able to buy myself coffee, a burger and fresh bread, but they sell one loaf per hand at the regular price.
Are you Russian military?
I saw them from afar and heard how they were shooting near my house, but I did not look out the window. They wrote in the group that a convoy of Russian equipment was coming, and, perhaps, they were shooting so that no one would shoot. Today, in the queues, I listened to people discussing the military. We are waiting for them here with flowers, but in Kherson the mood is very pro-Ukrainian.
The queue for me is a serious barometer. There are absolutely different people, of different ages and genders, dozens of people. So these days I have not met a single person who is inclined in Russian.
Russian channels are broadcast throughout the region. Do the people of Kherson believe what the Russians say on television?
People not only do not believe, they are indignant, they do not perceive this information. My mother is a pensioner, and she cursed when she heard what they (the propagandists) were saying. People are shocked, they are not used to this. We are not afraid yet, we share our impressions, but we do not know what will happen tomorrow.
Today, telegram channels contain reports that the Russians are planning to stage a staged rally in the city in their support. What do you know about it?
Local journalists are not invited, as you understand. In which case, they definitely didn’t invite me, but there is such information that journalists are being brought from Crimea. Going to an anti-rally is a big risk. Plus, he does not drive around the city and there is a curfew. But many people in our social networks are interested in posts that Kherson is Ukraine.
Whatever videos the Russians show to the whole world, where people joyfully greet the “liberators” with flowers, you don’t need to believe them. I do not rule out that the Russians will find a dozen renegades in Kherson, but these days I have not met someone who would be happy about what happened. And these are Russian-speaking people, some of them consider themselves Russian, but they say that they definitely do not need to be released. Many Russian-speaking Khersonians are now making a discovery in Ukraine’s statement. This is the position that inspires me.
It seems that the Russians took Kherson with little or no fear. In your opinion, why did this happen?
The people in the queues today were also discussing this. And I tried to realize what had happened: it was simply a betrayal or unpreparedness. This issue should be studied by the special services, because there was definitely a betrayal to some kind of reaction. But it is still unclear to me why this happened. People are wondering why they didn’t blow up the bridge across the Dnieper, which connects to Kherson with another part of the region. Rumor has it that the Russians are threatening to defeat Kherson and destroy the city if the bridge were blown up. I don’t even know who fought with the Russians on this bridge: the armed forces of Ukraine or the defense.
One of the local separatists in Kherson is already threatening all dangerous journalists and activists who oppose the “Russian world”. How did you present yourself in this situation?
I understand that the lists have already been drawn up somewhere. To be honest, I’m a little scared – I’m not a superhero. Many people have closed off-pages on Facebook. Knowing the history of 2014, remembering the experience of Ukrainian journalists in the Donbass, I do not imagine myself safe, just like my colleagues. You know, it’s like in a war: you stand before the battle and it happens that a bullet comes across or not, but for now I’m on adrenaline.
Interviewed by Maxim Shilin
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