Interview on the situation in Kherson
“That’s the collective feeling here: We win”
03/18/2022, 5:25 p.m
The Russians seem to want to make a “people’s republic” out of the Cherson district in south-eastern Ukraine, following the example of Donetsk and Luhansk. The residents protest against it. And they await liberation by the Ukrainian army, like Jimmy reported, a resident of the city. For security reasons, we will not disclose his real name.
ntv.de: The Ukrainian government has warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in the Cherson region, especially in smaller settlements there is a lack of medicines and sometimes food. How do you perceive the situation in the city of Kherson?
Jimmy: I’ve been doing some research over the past few days. There are currently no problems with the food supply in the city of Cherson. However, there are no medications, especially for hypothyroidism. This is currently the worst. In the meantime, there wasn’t enough insulin for diabetic patients. But the problem seems to have been sorted out to some extent, although I don’t know whether the supplies came from the Russians in Crimea or from mainland Ukraine. There are still ways that are not controlled by the Russians. Groceries come mainly from the village of Kopani, which is around 30 kilometers northwest of the city center. There is a veritable food exchange there with deliveries to Kherson. Anyway, I saw potatoes, carrots and radishes yesterday in Cherson. There are no queues in front of the grocery stores.
There have been several reports, including from the Ukrainian government, that local politicians from the Kherson region have been kidnapped by Russian troops. Did you hear anything about it?
Yes, several local mayors have been kidnapped in the region. President Zelenskyy apparently organized an exchange to free the mayor of Melitopol. But I don’t know what terms they agreed on.
It is said that the Russians want to set up a “people’s republic” in the Kherson district and then secede it from Ukraine, as in Donetsk and Luhansk. Politicians had been called by the occupiers and asked if they would cooperate.
The Russians have a problem. True, there are pro-Russian forces here. But, firstly, there are very few, and secondly, they are not entirely pro-Russian. They always want to join whatever force they hope will bring them to power. It’s the Russians now. A few of them met in the regional administration building, which is now occupied by the Russians, including ex-mayor Volodymyr Saldo. They probably wanted to form a new regional administration. But so far I haven’t seen any steps leading to the formation of a “People’s Republic”. I don’t think they have enough people for that, let alone enough experienced people. They are probably also afraid of the local population, who go to the demonstration every day and say: We don’t want a people’s republic here.
Then there are further demonstrations against the occupation?
Yes, every day. Usually a few hundred people show up, but when things get serious, there are thousands. At the moment there are reports that tomorrow, on Saturday, there will be a mock assembly to form a people’s republic. A few thousand people will surely come to Freedom Square again.
How dangerous is that?
I heard that the Russians used stun grenades against some demonstrations, there was shooting in the air and there were injuries from rubber bullets. But I haven’t heard anything about serious injuries or deaths here in Cherson. However, there were arrests. It is said that they go to certain people’s homes and arrest them. But I don’t have any reliable information about it.
The “Sueddeutsche Zeitung” quoted Deputy head of the Kherson regional parliament Sergei Khlan, saying that Kherson is under the control of the Russian National Guard, which reports directly to Putin.
Yes, but there is nothing in Russia that does not report to Putin. It is correct that the regular Russian soldiers left and were replaced by the National Guard. They are not suitable for fighting against the Ukrainian army on the field. That’s why they’re here in town now. They may fight against our people.
When we spoke two weeks ago, you said that nobody in Kherson has any doubts that the Ukrainian army will liberate the city. Is that still valid?
The day before yesterday there was a huge attack by the Ukrainian army on helicopters and supply trucks of the Russian troops at the Chernobaivka airfield here near the city. Up to twenty helicopters and the command post there were destroyed. The commanders were probably also killed, at least some of the Russian soldiers fled in panic to the other side of the Dnieper. Another general led them back to the city from there. You can see that the Ukrainian army is advancing from Mykolaiv and retaking village after village.
Mykolaiv is less than ninety kilometers from Cherson.
You can also see that the Ukrainian army is careful not to let the Russians do anything bad with Kherson. You can see what the Russians are capable of in other cities like Mariupol, Kharkiv and Kyiv. But we still await liberation. I don’t know if it will happen tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, or in two months or in half a year. But we see that the Ukrainian army is back on the offensive and that the turning point has already happened. That’s the collective feeling here: We’re winning.
Hubertus Volmer spoke to Jimmy