Louise Douillet, edited by Alexandre Dalifard
Last Friday, the Ukrainian army entered the city of Kherson after the withdrawal of Russian troops. A news that rejoices kyiv which judges that the West was on the way to a “joint victory” over Moscow. For the inhabitants, after 9 difficult months of occupation, the liberation is a relief.
The recapture of the city of Kherson: “a historic day” for Volodymyr Zelensky. Friday, November 11, the Ukrainian army was back in the city of Kherson after nine months of occupation by Russian troops. It was the first major city to fall after the invasion launched at the end of February by Vladimir Putin. During this historic day, as described by the Ukrainian president, the national anthem resounded throughout this city in southern Ukraine. A relief for the residents.
“Russian soldiers could rob, kidnap and torture”
If the withdrawal of Russian troops is seen as a new failure of Moscow’s strategy, Ukraine remains cautious all the same and reminds us that the conflict is not over. The Ukrainian state is “winning battles on the ground. But the war continues”, nevertheless declared Dmytro Kuleba, head of Ukrainian diplomacy. On the side of the inhabitants of Kherson, it is the end of an ordeal.
“The people you can see here now, I think a lot of them were hiding. They were hiding the Ukrainian flag somewhere in the corner. We were terrified of the Russian army. We were terrified of the soldiers as they could come to our house at any time, open the door like they live here and steal, kidnap, torture. And it was really terrible. I get goosebumps when I talk about it, but we did it We have waited and we are celebrating now”, testifies a resident of the city, moved by the event.
According to Moscow, “more than 30,000” Russian soldiers and “nearly 5,000 units of armaments and military vehicles have been withdrawn” from the western bank of the Dnieper.