A demonstration by residents of Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine occupied by Russian forces, was dispersed on Monday (March 21) by automatic weapons fire and tear gas, which injured at least one person, according to reports. videos from two local media.
Read alsoThe crisis in Ukraine is shattering the myth of eating local
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba denounced on Twitter “Russian war criminals (who) opened fire on unarmed people peacefully demonstrating against the invaders“. We see on the images of the protesters advancing towards the center of the Place de la Liberté and at the same time soldiers going to meet them before opening fire. Videos taken from at least two different angles then show the flight of several dozen demonstrators under heavy fire. They were broadcast on social networks by two local media, Souspilné Novini and Most Kherson. There is no indication from these images that the automatic weapons fire caused any casualties. One of the videos shows an elderly man being transported with a bloody leg, a voice indicating that he was injured by a stun grenade explosion. In his tweet, Dmytro Kouleba called for “stop russia“, by isolating it, by sanctioning it and by making “accountability to war criminals“. Kherson, close to Crimea annexed by Moscow in 2014, is the first large city (more than 200,000 inhabitants) seized by Russian forces after their invasion of Ukraine on February 24. It has since been the scene of regular demonstrations by its inhabitants against the occupier. A large gathering on Sunday March 13 had been the subject of what appeared to be warning shots.
SEE ALSO – Ukrainian presidency says Russian general killed in attack near Kherson