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War in UkraineKherson, scene of the hunt for Russian “collaborators”
Since the city was taken back from the Russians on November 11, Ukrainian police have been tracking down “traitors”, a sign of a very strong climate of suspicion. More than 130 people have already been arrested.
Checks are also carried out at Kherson station, where some residents still evacuate the city by daily train. In a separate room, five police officers are seated in front of as many small tables and each interrogates an evacuee seated opposite.
AFP
“Come on! Show your hands, take out your papers!”: on a beach on the banks of the Dnieper, in Kherson, in the south of Ukraine, police armed with Kalashnikovs aim at two men who have just docked with their boat.
The scene takes place on the right bank of the river, downstream from the city liberated on November 11 by soldiers from Kiev, following eight months of occupation by Russian forces, now withdrawn to the left bank. It symbolizes the climate of suspicion that reigns in Kherson, where the authorities still fear the presence of people who allegedly collaborated, or even still collaborate, with the Russians and seek to identify them.
The two men had just evacuated one of the islands bordering the eastern shore, a gray area where Ukrainian forces are absent and which is de facto controlled by Moscow, even if Russian soldiers are invisible there. “Evacuations are only allowed at the port of Kherson. Here, it is illegal”, explains one of the policemen.
Filtering points, patrols…
At the port, “there are people responsible for these” stabilization measures “, who check whether people were involved or not” in the collaboration, he continues. But the control turns short: two rockets fall on an islet 200 meters in front of the beach, releasing a plume of black smoke. The Dnieper has become the new front line. The two men and the policemen run away, to take shelter. The interrogation will resume once calm has returned.
After the euphoria of liberation, Kherson now lives under tight police control, which is very present and visible. Filtering points at the exits of the city, patrols in the streets: the men in blue check identity papers, ask questions, search the trunks of cars, to flush out “collaborators”. “These people have been here for over eight months. They worked for the Russian regime and now we have information and documents on each of them. Our police know everything regarding them and each of them will be punished,” said the governor of the Kherson region, Yaroslav Yanushevich.
Checks are also made at the station, where some inhabitants still evacuate the city by a daily train. In a separate room, five police officers are seated in front of as many small tables and each interrogates an evacuee seated opposite.
“Give information regarding traitors here”
On certain avenues of the city, the large propaganda posters of the occupier which praised Russia have disappeared, in favor of others to the glory of the liberation of Kherson. But other posters also appeared inviting residents to denounce those who collaborated with the Russian forces. “Provide information on traitors here”, indicates one of them, referring to the QR code of an application or a telephone number. “It helps us to identify them, to know if they are on the territory that we control”, justifies the governor of the region.
“Most information is received from local people through simple conversations. We are also analyzing social media accounts and continuing to monitor the internet,” said Andrii Kovanyi, head of public relations for the Kherson region police. After the police, the Ukrainian security services (SBU) take over the investigations. According to Deputy Interior Minister Yevgen Yenine, more than 130 people have already been arrested for collaboration in the Kherson region.
(AFP)
