"Do not speak Ukrainian and do not sing Ukrainian songs": rules of evacuation from Kherson from occupation authorities

“Dear residents of Kherson!

Please be informed that the evacuation of the population to the left bank of the river is carried out on a daily basis during daylight hours...”

This message was received on the phone of Olena (name changed for security reasons), who has been living in the city for almost 8 months of occupation. On October 18, Vladimir Saldo, an appointee of Russia, called Kherson residents to move to the left bank of the Dnipro. The commander of the occupation troops of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, Sergei Surovikin, explained that the Ukrainian army would allegedly attack the city, in particular the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. According to some reports, the occupation authorities have already left Kherson. Olena is convinced: “If the Russians say that the Armed Forces will shell the city, it means that we should expect shelling from the Russian military”.

Hereafter is Olena's direct speech about the mood of the locals and the situation in Kherson.

Mostly collaborators are leaving Kherson

The occupants started actively leaving Kherson a few days ago. They printed leaflets about the evacuation: what to take with you, where to gather, where they will take people, and about three days ago they started sending text messages to phones. In one night alone, I received about 6-7 messages.

The messages read as follows:

“...If you have private transport, you will be evacuated during daylight hours by ferry. Working hours are from 07:00 to 20:00. The point of departure is Antonivka Bridge.

If you do not have your own transport, use the river transport. Departure time is 08:00, 11:00, 14:00, and 17:00. The point of departure is the port of Kherson.

Residents who arrived on the left bank can be transported by bus to temporary accommodation or other places of rest.”

And also: “Dear residents! Urgently evacuate. There will be shelling of residential areas of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. From 7:00 buses from the River Port to the Left Bank.”

They started taking children out of the orphanage

I even saw a message with rules on how to behave on the evacuation bus. Among them are “Do not speak Ukrainian and do not sing Ukrainian songs”. These rules hurt the most. Some people panicked and are really trying to leave, but mostly, collaborators are leaving Kherson. Some have already sent their families and will now leave too. I think they understand that they cannot stay here, because they will get a sentence. So far, I have not met cases when someone was taken by force, and I cannot say that people are leaving en masse. However, my friends told me that the queue for the ferry was long. Those who were taken to Zaliznyi Port are now in some boarding house, locked up, they are not allowed anywhere, even outside to breathe the air. It is cold there, nothing is prepared, and they are heavily guarded. They also started taking children out of our orphanage.

In addition, collaborators are taking things out en masse. They took almost all fire trucks from the city. All employees of Khersonteploenergo were dismissed. Although before that, the city was supplied with heat. But not all houses are connected because some of them are empty.

Almost all their governing bodies left. They had to leave until October 24. So, on the 24th-25th we will already understand approximately what they can prepare for Kherson.

They even took their tricolored rag. This is a good sign.

There are still many Russian militaries and officers of the Federal Security Service in the city. They did not leave so that we could breathe. We will be able to do this only when the Armed Forces of Ukraine enter Kherson.

We have been preparing for more than 7 months for the day when they will come to liberate us from the occupation. We already have the experience of March, when we were sitting with closed shops and markets. This time we are ready: we have stocked up on food, and prepared firewood. It will be enough to cook soups for several weeks. Those who are for Ukraine cannot wait, they are already scratching their heads with nerves. But we are waiting.

Recently, when the occupants were leaving one of the schools where they were stationed, they even took their tricolored rag from there. They did not leave it — they took it. This is a good sign for us too. But my friend says: “It is a pity that they took it away, there will be nothing to wipe our feet with”. That's our mood.

They are running away, and we know that they are preparing something bad. We are ready for the fact that there will be shelling, that we will be shelled like Mykolaiv and Kharkiv, but we will be in a free Ukraine. It is very difficult to be under occupation. Perhaps only those who have been under it will understand it.

“It's scary because we do not fully understand what to expect”

Regarding the HPP, we monitor information from both the Russian and Ukrainian media. It is scary because if they blow it up, it will flood part of Kherson and A city in Kherson OblastOleshky. And our people also live there. Mostly, elderly people stayed, and many are bedridden. If water reaches them, it will be a disaster, in addition, it is already quite cold.

It is also scary because we do not fully understand what to expect. We cannot expect something good from them, a gesture of goodwill, especially in Kherson. They were so proud to occupy the city, so they will definitely do something nasty now. My whole family is also in Kherson, we decided that we will leave only if the Armed Forces say so.