The British Financial Times (FT) reported on the 3rd that Ukraine is spurring the operation to retake in earnest in southeastern Ukraine, which was lost in the early stages of the Russian invasion, and protests from residents helping to retake it in Kherson, a strategic strategic point, continued.
According to the FT, residents of Kherson said the Russian military’s tensions were rising as the Ukrainian military’s “general offensive” continued, including the sound of missile attacks and explosions around the city. The more serious the attack, the more frequent power outages, and the more difficult it was to connect to the Internet. A resident in his 40s said, “The residents here are closely watching what is happening on the front line. They are waiting for the retake of the Ukrainian army and the liberation of the city.”
Even within the city, protests once morest the Russian army, led by residents, are growing, the FT reported. On the 28th of last month, a senior Russian-appointed Kherson agricultural official was murdered along with his lover. Pro-Russian deputy governor Kirill Stremoussou Kherson also fled to Russia the day following a counterattack in Ukraine, the British Guardian reported.
However, the Russian military, who felt a sense of crisis, said that as they strengthened the surveillance boundary, the residents were continuing their daily lives in a stricter atmosphere than before. “We’ve reached a point where we can’t even comment on it,” said one local merchant. Another resident said, “Since the occupation of Russia, vodka stands have increased all over the streets.” He criticized, “The only thing the people who call the government want is for the residents to live drunk.”
Kherson is a strategic point on the road connecting Donbas, a pro-Russian rebel region, and the Krum Peninsula. It was the first Ukrainian city to be captured in March this year, at the beginning of the invasion, and is the only capital city occupied by Russia since then. Earlier, Russia announced that it plans to officially annex the region through a referendum, similar to the forced annexation of the Krm Peninsula in 2014.
Reporter Kim Soo-hyun [email protected]