For many, the Kherson region before the war was associated with the sea, watermelons, sunflower fields, grain and lots of vegetables and fruits. Now it is an occupied area. Not only food and medicine are not allowed to be imported from Ukraine, but grain and vegetables are also exported to Russia.

In the evening of April 30, in the entire Kherson region and in the occupied part of Zaporizhia, the Russians turned off all mobile communications and the Internet. For several days, people remained in the information blockade, alone with the Russian military, which is very easy to meet, crossing the threshold of their own home.

On May 4, the connection and the Internet were restored. However, they are still not stable and may disappear suddenly.

How and what does the Kherson region live now?

On April 25, the Russian military entered the Kherson City Council building. To this day, despite the occupation, Mayor Igor Kolykhayev, who was elected in the regular elections, was there and Ukrainian flags were flying.

According to Kolikhayev, he refused to cooperate with the Russian military. They appointed new “leaders” of the city and region. Former member of the Verkhovna Rada and former mayor of Kherson Volodymyr Saldo became the new “head of the administration”. In 2020, Saldo wanted to take the mayor’s seat again, but lost to Kolykhayev, who received almost 64% of the Kherson votes. In the Verkhovna Rada, Saldo voted for the “January 16 Laws” (2014) and participated in propaganda programs on Russian television.

The Russian military has appointed a new “leader” of the city. He became Alexander Kobets. There is not enough information about this person. He was probably born in 1959 in Kherson. Journalists could not find any of his photos.

Another important character of the occupying power is Kirill Stremousov. He is a well-known pro-Russian activist in Kherson. It was he who in March announced the creation of the so-called ” Rescue Committee” for peace and order.

Local officials say they have three main options: cooperate with the Russians, flee the occupied region or be prepared for pressure or even torture.

Thus, the head of the Staraya Zburievka of the Holoprystan community, Viktor Marunyak, was held captive by the Russian military for three weeks. Marunyak returned with broken ribs and exacerbation of chronic diseases.

The leader of this community, Alexander Babich, was abducted by the Russian military on March 28. It is unknown where Babich is now. The leader of the community had pro-Ukrainian views and went to rallies with the people against the occupation.

The house of the head of the Chorobaiv community, Ihor Dudar, was also searched on May 2. After that, the man found himself in critical condition in a hospital, where he is now “guarded” by Russian soldiers.

Mayors Oleshok and Skadovska left for the territory controlled by Ukraine. They say they continue to work remotely. The head of the Oleshkiv community, Yevhen Ryschuk, said that despite his absence, the Russians had not been able to find a new “leader” for Oleshkiv.

On April 22, it became known that the Russians had taken grain from an elevator in Novooleksiyivka and seized a local agricultural enterprise.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine noted that by such actions Russia continues the case of “Stalinists and Nazis.”

Residents of the region confirm that the Russians are exporting grain and robbing farmers. However, they refuse to give even anonymous comments, fearing for their lives and health.

Since the beginning of the occupation, volunteer Iryna Salikhova has been trying to at least partially cover the need for medicines for the residents of the Kherson region. This is extremely difficult to do. Since the beginning of the invasion, only volunteers have brought medicines here at their own risk.

Iryna lived in the occupied city for a long time and only recently left for the controlled territory. In Kherson, she and like-minded women set up the Patriotic Cats volunteer headquarters and are now coordinating those volunteers who remain in the occupied city and looking for new ways to supply medicine.

The volunteer says that absolutely all medicines are not enough.

There is a great need for sedatives and cardio drugs. People need drugs for epilepsy, asthma, hormonal drugs. There are almost no medicines for cancer patients in the region.

What they are trying to bring in may fall into the hands of the Russian military. Thus, the volunteer says that one driver, who was taking medicine to Kherson, was deprived of more than $ 7,000 worth of medicine at the checkpoint. The driver himself survived.

“People are dying in Kherson due to lack of medicines. This would not have happened before the war, because logistics worked. Medicines, hygiene products and baby food could be obtained. A few weeks ago, one of the volunteer headquarters, which specializes more in helping mothers and children , posted a note that a six-month-old child died in Zelenivka, a suburb of Kherson, simply because they could not find a lactose-free mixture, “says Iryna Salikhova.

According to her, the situation in the region is much worse than in the city, and the fact that volunteers manage to get to the Kherson region is a “drop in the ocean”. But they continue to work.

For several days Kherson and the region lived without mobile communication and the Internet. For some people, this was the final argument for leaving the occupied territories. Especially for those who worked remotely.

Kherson Anna (name changed. – Ed. ) Says that all communications disappeared at once, and she was thinking about how to call an ambulance or firefighters. Kherson residents do not have enough landlines, so if necessary, you should run for help.

Anna says that the townspeople are accustomed to military equipment, which constantly travels around the city, and tells about her neighbor, who was searched several times by Russian soldiers while she was driving home from the country.

According to Anna, there are Russian goods in the city, but she did not notice them. They sell Russian cigarettes, Crimean sausage and eggs of unknown origin. When Anna was ill, she could not find any painkillers. The girl says that there are many Kherson residents left in the city, but people continue to leave, despite the lack of any green corridors.

All our meetings (with those who remained in Kherson. – Ed .) Are imbued with anticipation. First, those people we are waiting for from the war, with those with whom the war has torn us apart. We are constantly thinking about them, about when we can meet and hug. And the second expectation is when it’s all over, “says Anna.

The Russian military continues to search for residents of the city and region, some people are disappearing. The Russians are dispersing pro-Ukrainian rallies and trying to spread misinformation that Ukraine has abandoned the locals.

Instead, the so-called “local authorities” and the Russian state media write about the “restoration of peaceful life” in the Kherson region, that mobile communications and the Internet were cut off by Ukraine, not the Russian military, and about the difficulties faced by local residents. remember.

Many residents of the Kherson region, meanwhile, are resisting. For example, they distribute leaflets telling Russians about the results of the Lend-Lease and offering to prepare for the consequences.

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