“I always thought that Kherson was pro-Russian and provincial, passive even,” says Dmytro, “But look how active and brave people are now.”
Dmytro is talking about his hometown, a Southern Ukrainian city of nearly 300,000 residents, which is under temporary Russian occupation. Russian troops sieged Kherson a few weeks ago, with militia controlling the streets and threatening locals.
The Ukrainian General Staff issued a statement on March 30 stating that Russia wants to establish an occupation authority in the occupied Ukrainian territory and is going to send judicial personnel to Kherson. In addition, Russia will also hold a "referendum" in Kherson, intending to establish it as Ukraine's third "republic" after the "Donetsk Republic" and "Luhansk Republic".
In order to prevent an illegal referendum, Ukrainian deputies of Kherson held Zoom sessions where they voted that Kherson is part of Ukraine. They also boycott any attempts from Russian forces to change political status of the city and the region.
Kherson is very close to Crimea, a peninsula Russia annexed in 2014. Kherson region and Crimea are linked with a small land strait, which is crucial for Russians who want to control the area. A lot of Russian soldiers invaded Ukraine and launched missiles into Ukraine from there.
“There is a constant feeling of danger and something menacing,” Dmytro says, “Like something bad, even worse, is about to happen.”
A restless city
After the war started, Dmytro was the only Khersonian I could contact who was willing to speak to the media.
He was born and raised in a quiet suburb near the city. Dmytro moved to the capital, Kyiv, years later, but he never lost touch with his home city.
In Kyiv, Dmytro established a successful sports business and became an activist and a volunteer. A few days before the war started, he decided to visit his elderly parents in Kherson. Later, the Russians occupied Kherson and surrounded all roads.
“I could not leave the city, so I stayed. Russians took Kherson under siege, so they blocked all the roads. Nobody can get in or get out,” the man explains.
This is when his fighting began.
As Russian troops got control of the city, persecutions began. Dmytro says that a lot of locals are now in hiding because they are wanted by the invaders. Some have to stay with acquaintances and friends of friends so they would not be found. They are also limiting their online presence so Russians cannot track them.
“There is always a threat that someone will report you, and that Russians will find out who you are and what you are doing. They have been kidnapping activists, city officials, and journalists,” the man continues, “They want to crush the city’s free spirits.”
I tell Dmytro that I, as a correspondent of Crossing, tried to get in contact with other people from Kherson, and that many activists were unable to talk. They told me they were in hiding, and that their connection and access to the media were limited. Dmytro is not surprised.
“I guess that Russians had a list of activists and well-known people in the city before they occupied it,” Dmytro says, “So they are targeting individuals who they think will be mobilizing people to resist.”
Dmytro himself has locked his social media presence and is very careful about going out. He does not leave the house alone in the evening hours.
Although individuals have to be wary of being alone and silenced, when the people of Kherson come together, there is a strength to fight.
This city has changed
I tell Dmytro that I was once in Kherson, a city near the Black Sea and the Dnipro river famous for its shipbuilding industry, but that it was almost ten years ago. But I heard that it has a very different image from the old industrial city.
“Kherson transformed a lot,” the man tells me, “It got richer and nicer now that we have more self-rule across regions, and localities can use their budgets for their own needs.”
Between 2015 and 2020, the Ukrainian government passed some major reforms that granted more power to different provinces.
Dmytro confirmed this statement, “Kherson transformed a lot. It got richer and nicer now that we have more self-rule across regions, and localities can use their budgets for their own needs.”
“So Kherson ten years ago and Kherson now are very different cities,” he adds, “And not only visibly. Mentally also.”
Dmytro tells me that he did not expect Kherson to be so active in opposing Russian troops, but his own compatriots surprised him beyond possible. People who used to be apolitical and uninterested in the city are now actively participating in marches against Russians.
"Isn't it dangerous?" I asked.
"There are many risks. Russian troops are everywhere. Whenever we take to the streets, the soldiers stand there with guns and threaten us. They opened fire into the crowd on many occasions,” he says.
But the threat does not stop the people.
Despite the occupation of the city, thousands of Khersonians still gather in the streets every day, waving Ukrainian flags.
“I never thought that my fellow Khersonians were this brave and active. But they love and want to live in Ukraine, and they overcome all the fear to show this,” Dmytro explains.
A humanitarian show?
Life under occupation is difficult not only because of Russian persecution. The city cannot receive any products from the free parts of Ukraine because Russians are blocking them. They also don’t allow Ukrainian humanitarian aid.
“Once, Russians brought their own humanitarian aid from occupied Crimea. Many products were actually looted from Ukrainian stores,” Dmytro says.
“Then, Russians put that aid on display in the city center, probably for a show for Russian state media,” the man continues, “But local people refused to take it.”
However, the food and medicines in the Kherson store are running out. Without supplies from other Ukrainian cities, the city would soon be running deficits.
Elders who used to like Russia...
Regarding the demand for information, in Kherson, Russians tried to cut people off from the Ukrainian TV and Internet. But Dmytro bluntly said that the Russians are not very sophisticated in their news blockade, so locals find ways around it. For example, locals have set up Telegram channels to share information about Ukrainian cities in real-time, which Russian officials can do nothing about.
“Nobody wants Russian sources. We know they only lie,” the man points out to the giant propaganda machine created by the media affiliated with the Kremlin.
“People know what Russia is. The war opened their eyes to the so-called “Russian world” that Putin preaches,” Dmytro adds.
Before the war, many residents of Kherson had positive opinions about Russians. They watched a lot of Russian movies and TV shows. A lot of pro-Russian politicians got elected in Kherson, too.
Now, everything is different. “My parents, who used to like Russia, would not even watch any of their films, nothing. Everybody hates Russia for what it did,” Dmytro says.
We have to keep on fighting
In the area around Kherson, bilateral artillery fire is still ongoing, as Ukraine is still trying to win the city back.
Dmytro believes that the daily protest rallies in Kherson are affecting the morale of the Russian army, which he hopes will last until Russia retreats. And the Ukrainian army will re-liberate the city.
“We have to keep on fighting because the enemy wants to tire us. Russians think that the time is on their side, and that at some point, people will just accept their fate and surrender – mentally,” the man says, “But we cannot let that happen.”
“Ukraine will win because we have no other way,” he concludes, “And Kherson is always part of Ukraine.” This is the conclusion Dmytro gave me.
*中文版請見：【赫爾松現場】第一個被俄軍佔領的烏克蘭城市，「就算會被開槍射殺，我們還是要上街頭。」
Editor: Sylvia Tien
