No water, power, no internet, only euphoria in Kherson

• Ukrainian soldiers rushed into the city of Kherson on Friday while Russian forces withdrew to the east.
• Locals flock to the central square wrapped in Ukrainian flags, singing and chanting “Freedom for Ukraine”.
• Residents have begun scaling the summits of buildings, including the movie theatre, to fly Ukrainian flags.

The violent Russian occupation of the Ukrainian city of Kherson has lasted for eight months. However, Ukrainian soldiers rushed into the city on Friday while Russian forces withdrew to the east.

The locals lack access to internet, water, and adequate power. But the atmosphere was upbeat as a media team arrived in the city on Saturday.

As the crew filmed live in Kherson’s central square, some in the crowd of locals sang the national anthem while others shouted “Slava Ukrayini!” – glory to Ukraine, a patriotic greeting.

“We feel free, we are not slaves, we are Ukrainians,” resident Olga told media.

Additionally, locals have begun scaling the summits of the square’s buildings, including the movie theatre, to fly Ukrainian flags. Cheers and flag autograph requests are given to soldiers passing through.

Additionally, locals have begun scaling the summits of the square’s buildings, including the movie theatre, to fly Ukrainian flags. Cheers and flag autograph requests are given to soldiers passing through.

“We were terrified by [the] Russian army, we were terrified by soldiers that can come any moment in our house, in our home – just open the door, like they are living here, and steal, kidnap, torture,” Olga said.

But now, people flock to the central square in the newly liberated city, wrapped in Ukrainian flags, singing and chanting “Freedom for Ukraine.”

“Everyone here is out celebrating in the square here. People are wearing the Ukrainian flag, they’re hugging the soldiers, they’ve come out to see what it’s like to have freedom,” Robertson said.

Katerina described the liberation as the “best day” of her life after eight months under Russian occupation. “Our town is free, my street is free,” she told media.

Andrew, a different local resident, expressed his joy at seeing Ukrainian soldiers.

“I think lots of people were killed here. We just don’t know that yet,” he said of the period under occupation.

Russia declared on Friday that it has left the western bank of the Dnipro River in the strategically important southern province of Kherson, handing the city of the same name and its surroundings over to Ukraine.

The retreat deals Putin’s war effort in Ukraine a serious hit. Since the invasion in February, Russian forces had only managed to seize Kherson, the regional seat of Ukraine. Large tracts of terrain that Russia has held from the beginning of the war and that Putin had only five weeks ago legally designated as Russian territory are now ceded as a result of their pullback east across the Dnipro.

“It was a really hard time for everyone. Every Ukrainian family waited for our soldiers, for our army,” a Kherson resident told media on Saturday, recalling Russia’s months-long occupation.

The woman said it felt “amazing” to see Ukrainian troops in Kherson.

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“We felt every day your support, thank you so much,” the woman added, before hugging Robertson.

Speaking Saturday on the next steps for the Ukrainian military, military analyst Cedric Leighton said: “This is going to be a major urban operation. What you are going to see is a methodical operation to clear buildings of potential booby traps and mines.

“Another thing that the Ukrainians will have to do is they’re going to have to move their systems forward so that they can counter any possible Russian artillery that is going to be on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River.

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“You can see that the Ukrainians have moved to that river bank, they are now controlling that area, they will have to mop up some remaining Russian forces that did not make it out of the west bank of the Dnipro River. But those that are there will probably either surrender or in essence be eliminated from the fight.”

Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, shared a video of celebrations on Friday night. In the video, people can be seen waving flags and chanting “ZSU,” which stands for the Ukrainian abbreviation for the armed forces.

Earlier that day, the Ukrainian military’s southern operational command said Russian forces had been “urgently loading into boats that seem suitable for crossing and trying to escape” across the river.

It was unclear whether all Russian troops had left Kherson and the wider region. Serhiy Khlan, a member of Ukraine’s Kherson regional council, said the city was “almost under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine” but cautioned that some Russian troops might have remained behind in civilian clothing.

He warned that many Russian troops “threw away their military uniforms, and are now hiding with civilian clothes on.”

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