Forbes Journalist | Lecturer | Rising Leaders Fellow Aspen Institute UK | TEDx Alumni
Dec 12, 2024
Vladyslav Golovin, my former editor, my friend, was among the first journalists to enter liberated Kherson after 256 days of occupation. His report was the first in the world from a free Kherson, where residents shared stories of resilience and survival under Russian control. I want to share a shortened version of his report with you:
”Don’t do this! Stand up!” A soldier addresses a civilian in Freedom Square, the central square of Kherson. The man had knelt before the soldier. “I promised myself eight months ago that I would kneel before our soldiers when they returned!”
The soldier helped the elderly man up, visibly moved by the gesture. Before this, females and children frequently approached him, asking for selfies or autographs on the flag. But such an emotional display of gratitude was a first for him.
Flags are everywhere—big ones, small ones. A woman spreads out blue and yellow ribbons on the hood of a military vehicle, asking a soldier for a knife to cut them and distribute them to passersby. “I kept these all this time, waiting for you boys to come back!”
Tears stream down her face—tears of joy. But nearly everyone here is crying. Pickup trucks with soldiers occasionally drive into the square, and the crowd erupts in cheers: “Glory to the warriors of the Armed Forces of Ukraine!”
As soon as a vehicle door opens, people rush to hug the soldiers. “Finally, we don’t have to be afraid!” or “I can’t believe I’m seeing our flag here!” are phrases heard repeatedly from passersby.
More locals keep arriving in the square, and no one wants to go home. The main event of the celebration is waiting for the next vehicle with soldiers. The atmosphere is reminiscent of the Maidan protests. People dance, sing, and share their experiences.
Residents recall occupation:“They’re savages, barbarians. Russians took everything, even kindergarten furniture and the linoleum from the registry office.”
“A guy in front of me was driving a Zhiguli. They stopped him, threw him out of the car, took the keys, and drove off.”
“One guy was just smoking a cigarette outside our factory in the evening. They saw the small flame and just shot him dead.” They also describe the so-called referendum:”Russians soldiers walked the streets. They’d approach people and ask, ‘Are you for Russia?’ That’s democracy at gunpoint!”
By midday, locals brought a giant flag nearly the size of the square and unfurled it in front of an empty pedestal. Long ago, it held a statue of Lenin.
Teenagers lead the patriotic chants. Occasionally, distant explosions are heard, but no one pays attention. A few soldiers set up a Starlink terminal right in the square and share the passwords with the locals. Residents finally call and message their loved ones.
One man walks through the crowd holding a handmade sign: “Kherson waited for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
Does Anyone Have the Moral Right to Pressure Ukraine to Surrender Its Territories to a Dictator? Putin wants Kherson too.
…………..
Comment from :
The Terrorist State of russia must be defeated in Ukraine and pay for all the crimes.
Glory to Ukraine! 🇺🇦 For EPIC courage and determination.
Glory to Ukraine! 🇺🇦
For EPIC courage and determination.
Слава Україні – Разом до перемоги! 🇺🇦 ✌
The Kremlin supports Trump plan to stop the long range attacks by Ukraine on Russia. Said today.
Either Ukraine is able to defeat the invaders or a deal is unavoidable.
It depends on what Trump does. If he floods the world with oil, then russia will collapse. If he appeases putler and give him what he wants, then Ukraine will be destroyed in a few years. Trump is holding all the aces, but will he use them?
We were all waiting for a sensational Ukrainian victory preparing to party. But the shitty support by Nato – consider Trump IS NOT POTUS and has not been for four years! – has driven Ukraine into a corner. Ukraine must survive and her people must survive. Territory can be (painfully) spared, but the nation and the people can’t.
A ceasefire is the worst scenario for Ukraine. They need a real deterrence, not some worthless piece of paper. If the support is withdrawn, Ukraine will perish, then China will start on Taiwan and the US despite all the talk will do nothing.
I’m totally opposed to a ceasefire. A true binding peace treaty redifining Ukraine’s borders (😭😤) and including Nato membership is the least acceptable. Without Nato membership ruSSia is invited to continue the genocide anytime.
Exactly, but NATO have been proved to be a bunch of cowards. The Poles launched planes today just in case these missiles entered Poland. There is nothing to stop Poland from destroying these missiles in Ukraine. They could easily claim they are a threat to Poland’s security.
Nato could, Reagan style, tell Putin to fuck off or else! But Rutte is just another bureaucrat shifter.
It doesn’t matter what Rutte says. Biden is the one controlling NATO.
Biden had years to move heaven and hell to help Ukraine to liberate herself. But just like the EU, it’s worthless. Red fascists will never grow a spine, and those who have a spine will die unnoticed, like myself.
It’s pathetic how the admin deliberately withheld aid to Ukraine when they had russia on the ropes. They didn’t want a Ukrainian victory as it would have been a huge embarrassment to the West, who predicted Ukraine would fold in a few weeks.