Cherson after the recapture: “We neutralize the dangers”

No electricity, scarce food and danger from mines: Ukraine has recaptured the strategically important city of Cherson, but the situation there is precarious. The government wants to fix the bottlenecks quickly.

Immediately after the withdrawal of Russian troops from Cherson, Ukrainian radio and television resumed broadcasting there. As reported by the State Service for Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, a Ukrainian news channel is already broadcasting again. A Ukrainian radio station can also be received again so that the residents of the liberated areas can again receive reliable information about the course of the military operations, according to the Ukrainian side.

After the annexation by Russia, only Russian channels could be received there. In his nightly video speech on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi spoke of a historic day and announced that the first thing to be done was to remove dangerous legacies from the Russian occupying forces, such as landmines.

Ukrainian troops are waiting on the outskirts

“Shortly after our defense forces have reached the established limits, stabilization measures will begin in Kherson, as has been the case everywhere else,” announced the head of state. “We are consistently neutralizing the dangers. The first is mines. The occupiers left many mines and explosives, especially on vital objects. We will have to clean them of them.”

Selenskyj reported that special units had initially moved into Cherson. Most of the Ukrainian troops are still waiting in the outskirts. In the meantime, the aforementioned stabilization measures have started, the Ukrainian General Staff announced.

“Critical Water Shortage”

An adviser to the Ukrainian mayor of Cherson reported massive supply shortages on Ukrainian television. “Now the city has a critical water shortage because there is practically no water supply. There is not enough medicine, there is not enough bread because nothing is baked.”

There is no electricity and accordingly there are problems with food. “I think that this issue will be resolved in the near future. We are preparing a humanitarian cargo near Kherson to help residents solve these issues as soon as possible,” the adviser said.

Kyiv offers talks

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba assumes that the war will continue despite the recapture of parts of the Kherson region. At the ASEAN summit, to which Ukraine has been invited for the first time, Kuleba was open to meeting his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov – should he ask. But this did not happen.

With a view to possible negotiations, he was pessimistic. Kuleba said that in the past Russia had only ever issued a list of ultimatums. True to the motto: take it or leave it. For Kuleba, on the other hand, there is an essential condition for starting talks. “They have to get out of Ukraine, they have to approach negotiations in good faith – it’s as simple as that.”

Russia holds large parts of the region

After withdrawing from parts of the Kherson region, the Russian occupiers moved their regional administrative center to the city of Henichesk. It is located in the south-east of the Cherson region – not far from Crimea. A large part of the Russian administration has already been relocated there. 70 percent of the Kherson region is still under Russian control.