18:29, 07.05.2025

21 min.58Interview

The head of the NGO “City of Power”, lawyer Yevhen Gilin, told in an interview with UNIAN how the occupation in 2022 united Kherson residents, about the hunting of Russian drones on citizens, and the life of Kherson under constant shelling – from artillery to KAB.

Mr. Yevgeny, how and where did you encounter Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine?

On the morning of February 24, 2022, I was at home in Kherson with my wife, four children, and mother. My father had just left for the World Wrestling Championships, and my father-in-law had gone abroad for a few days… So I was left alone with the women and children.

On the first day, we were still trying to figure out what to do next: all the advice then was to “stay home.” But on February 25, at four in the morning, I woke up with a completely clear thought: we had to get out! I realized that I had to take my family to a safe place. Within two hours, we were on our way… First, we reached Kropyvnytskyi, and then to our relatives in western Ukraine.

After leaving your family safe, did you return? How did your volunteer journey in Kherson and the region begin?

First I went to the military registration and enlistment office – I asked for a place in neighboring Mykolaiv. But then there was a big influx of volunteers, they told me: you have four children, as long as there are enough people, we will put you in the reserve. However, I couldn’t just sit and sit…

When Kherson was captured, my colleagues and friends and I quickly coordinated to help. After all, back in 2021, we founded the NGO “City of Power”, so we had a network of like-minded people – lawyers, entrepreneurs, activists. We created an improvised headquarters on the basis of our legal office in Kherson, gathered all possible resources and contacts. Already on March 1, through surveillance cameras, I saw columns of enemy equipment entering the city… And on March 3, our first brave people began to make short trips around the city – they went around the yards, learned about the critical needs of the people who remained there, and passed this information on to us to plan further actions.

How exactly did your team help people during the occupation?

Immediately after March 2022, we focused on evacuating residents of the region, and also began delivering humanitarian aid to those who remained in the captured cities.

Did the city’s occupation authorities not hinder the volunteers?

The occupying authorities partly turned a blind eye to our activities. Mainly because they themselves needed to show “concern” for civilians. Well, we used every “loophole” to smuggle in an extra bag of flour or medicine.

Do I understand correctly that the volunteers who evacuated people then returned to the occupied city again and again with humanitarian cargo?

Yes. And we always tried not to travel empty-handed: if we managed to take people out of the city, then in the opposite direction we used the same transport to bring humanitarian aid to Kherson – food, medicine, hygiene items. International humanitarian organizations began to enter Kherson closer to the summer of 2022, and we from the humanitarian hub, which we created in Mykolaiv back in March, delivered aid to the occupied city in small batches – we were pioneers.

The townspeople got involved: they shared fuel, hid humanitarian supplies in their homes, passed on information to each other about who needed help. Without this support from the locals, we wouldn’t have been able to do much… This solidarity helped us get through the horrors of the occupation.

Tell us more about the evacuation. How did you manage to organize the evacuation of people from occupied Kherson and the region?

First, our volunteers found out that a few days after the capture of the city, the Russians were still allowing people to leave through the west of the Kherson region – towards Mykolaiv, through Stanislav. That’s why we took the first groups of people out there. We were actually going nowhere, not knowing whether they would let us in or what awaited us at the next checkpoint.

We “punched” those routes by trial and error: we passed 20-40 checkpoints a day, memorized all the details – what questions the occupiers asked, what checks (what you shouldn’t take with you, for example, some documents or even phones)… It was a crazy risk! We at the headquarters wrote everything down and adjusted the “instructions” for each subsequent evacuation column.

Over time, the enemy began to frequently change the rules of travel, and our routes changed too: first the western direction, then through the north of the Kherson region, through Davidiv Brid, and finally to the east, through Vasylivka to Zaporizhia. It was through Vasylivka (on the border with the occupied Zaporizhia region) that evacuation became more or less systematic. During that time, by the fall of 2022, through joint efforts, we managed to evacuate more than 10 thousand people from the Kherson region. This is perhaps our greatest achievement.

When did the occupiers stop “turning a blind eye” to the activities of Kherson volunteers? After all, now we also know about the kidnapping of activists, about “basements”, and about “hunting” pro-Ukrainian townspeople.

Indeed, the enemy persecuted many volunteers. Some were captured, thrown into basements, some were tortured, even killed… My friend Anton Kushnir gave his life saving others.

On May 16, 2022, he was taking women and children towards Mykolaiv. Two cars were driving: Anton’s car and a bus behind, the transport had signs of a humanitarian mission. When the convoy stopped to rest, Anton, who was in the driver’s seat in the first car, was shot. A Russian soldier was sitting in an ambush by the road, thirty meters away, and shot him straight in the head – for fun . The passengers of the car and the bus saw that they were shooting deliberately, for no reason – just to kill a person.

Anton died on the spot, I still have a hard time dealing with this loss. My friend was an incredibly courageous person, inspiring others not to be afraid. It was thanks to people like this that the evacuation became possible at all…

It became more difficult at the end of the summer of 2022, and in September the Russian occupiers completely closed the exit from Kherson to the territory controlled by Ukraine. At that time, we had already heard about the upcoming counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, we were really looking forward to the liberation, although we understood that by retreating, the enemy could take revenge on civilians.

Unfortunately, that’s what happened: in October 2022, the Russians massively deported people from the Right Bank to the Left Bank, or deep into the occupied territories, forcibly “evacuated” entire hospitals, boarding schools… Those who remained were threatened with reprisals, told that Kherson would be “thrown to the Banderaites for execution.” But the townspeople still waited for our soldiers at home, in their hometown.

Did your team have the opportunity to evacuate people from the occupied Left Bank of the Kherson region?

Unfortunately, no. Even after the deoccupation of the right bank, the Russians practically did not let anyone out of the Left Bank. Since November 2022, after the liberation of Kherson, we have been preparing to help communities on the left bank with humanitarian cargo, thinking about how to reach those cities and villages, and establishing contacts with international partners. But on June 6, 2023, all plans were canceled by the Russian terrorist attack on the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station. Then we realized that organizing a stable “humanitarian trail” to the left bank is still unrealistic.

Nevertheless, I have heard stories of people being able to escape from the occupation on the Left Bank. Are there any such stories in your practice?

My experience suggests that it is better not to talk about the evacuation from the occupied territories to the general public right now.

First, it is an extremely complicated process. There are cases when real hostages are rescued. For example, recently a man was returned who the Russians had held for a year and a half doing hard labor – they forced him to dig trenches and build fortifications, they tried to give him a Russian passport, but he refused. Volunteers helped him escape through Crimea and Belarus.

Secondly, voicing possible ways of leaving (and – especially – details: from obtaining the necessary documents to various unofficial procedures) can be harmful – the occupiers will react and “close” such an opportunity.

If we talk without details, then, theoretically, it is possible to leave the occupied Left Bank even now. At least, if you have money and your own transport. But such stories are a drop in the ocean – dozens of rescued people compared to hundreds of thousands who remain Russian hostages. After all, most people in the occupation are elderly people, people with disabilities, people with limited mobility, those who take care of frail relatives…

Unfortunately, neither the UN nor the Red Cross have officially achieved anything from the Russian Federation regarding Ukrainians in the occupied territories. So we can only wait for our military – there will probably be no other liberation.

It’s an unpleasant question, but are they waiting for liberation? In your opinion, how many so-called Zhduns were there in the Kherson region – those who were waiting for Russia?

First, this is very important, people in the territory controlled by Ukraine have no right to condemn anyone who remains under occupation. No one knows or understands someone else’s fate, the reasons why people are still there.

Secondly, I would not be talking about the “Zhduns”. The critical mass in the Kherson region was an “inert majority” who were not waiting for Russia, but simply wanted to “live in peace”, “so that no one would touch us”. But among them there were indeed those who believed Russian propaganda, in particular about better pensions. After all, the age of these people is mostly 50+: elderly people, former Soviet military personnel, pensioners.

When the Russians seized the Kherson region, the first actions were aimed at connecting all Kherson residents to RosTV and the Internet. Watching the “beautiful” Russian IPSO and constantly listening to tricolor crap, people began to think: “Well, what is the order there in Russia. Maybe it’s like that for us too?…”. Such sentiments were among some people, especially in the hinterland. And the occupiers took advantage of this long before 2022.

Did the neighborhood with annexed Crimea influence the formation of such sentiments?

In some cases. On the one hand, even then we saw a flow of displaced people – people who lost their homes. Many Kherson residents visited relatives in the annexed Crimea and returned with stories about how the peninsula was turning into a Russian military base – resorts without people, raids, persecution for their pro-Ukrainian position. On the other hand, someone, on the contrary, saw new roads and yachts in the ports…

Now the vast majority of those who were openly waiting for Russia, together with the occupation troops, fled to the left bank of the Dnieper (in October 2022). Everyone else – even if they once had some sympathy – today no longer builds illusions around the “Russian world”. It seems to me that ordinary “waiters” became disappointed very quickly. After all, if in the first weeks of the occupation it was still relatively quiet and the Russians tried to seem polite, then searches, looting, kidnappings began. And those supporters of “order, like in Russia” had their eyes opened. They saw that the Russians are barbarians and thieves.

You know, I’ve heard from completely pro-Ukrainian Kherson residents that it was terrible during the occupation, but at least they weren’t shelling you like this, they weren’t destroying the city, they weren’t hunting you with drones when you just went to the store…

Oh, this is a painful question… Occupation and shelling are two different kinds of hell, and it’s hard to say which is worse. Under the occupation, it was relatively quiet in terms of hostilities: no shells or drones flew over the city. But instead, there was constant fear. Fear that the “orcs” would come to your house at night, break down the door, and take you to the basement. Fear of talking to your neighbors so that someone wouldn’t report you. Fear of going outside because a patrol might stop you and start looking for “Nazis” in your phone…

Kherson was then like one big zone – quiet, gloomy, dark, with a ban on leaving. People lived without communication, without normal news, under Russian propaganda. It was terribly exhausting psychologically. We dreamed of liberation then. And when the Armed Forces of Ukraine came, it was a real explosion of joy – emotions over the edge. But no one imagined at what a high price we would get freedom.

Massive Russian shelling began almost immediately?

Yes, the Russians retreated and began to simply take revenge on the Kherson residents every day with cannons and mortars (they still do this). People who survived 8 months of occupation relatively intact and unharmed are suddenly dying from Russian shells… It is very painful to realize. But being under occupation is like dying slowly. After all, after the liberation of the Kherson region, facts about the atrocities and abuses committed by the Russians were revealed: kidnapping, torture in basements, rape regardless of gender or age.

What is Kherson like now? How is life in the city?

Unfortunately, the constant Russian shelling is not in vain – the city is devastated, houses are destroyed, infrastructure is damaged. Some areas have been reduced to ruins – Ostriv, Skhidnoye, Antonivka. Since the beginning of 2025 alone, the Right Bank has been shelled more than 12,000 times , 29 civilians have been killed, and more than 230 have been injured. These are terrible numbers.

But at the same time, Kherson lives! The city stands, works, holds on… During the occupation, many things became clear: we saw who is who, who can be trusted, and who not so much. After what we experienced, it seems that there are no strangers anymore – everyone has become family. For example, people in neighborhoods united to survive the winter under shelling together: they looked for a generator together, brought food to each other, and fed homeless animals. At checkpoints, women bring home-cooked food to police officers – some borscht, some pies. Pensioners share canned food with firefighters. People know the utility workers who, after “arrivals”, clear up rubble and repair networks by name and respect them as heroes.

Such incredible community unity is being formed, which, honestly, was not there in peacetime. Maybe it sounds pathetic, but we try to be there in any trouble. If a grandmother’s cat is left hungry and the volunteers find out about it, they will bring food to that cat. That’s the level of involvement now, you know?

One of the new skills is quick coordination. If you have heat and light today, then tomorrow you may not. Therefore, you need to react instantly – to repair, support, help people. And this happens constantly. Utility workers, doctors – work, specialists restore damaged power lines, volunteers bring fuel, food, humanitarian aid to villages… We have learned to deal with such troubles very quickly.

Do many residents stay in the city?

I witnessed many cases when, after the liberation of Kherson, people stayed on principle, even though they had somewhere to go – they said: “We are at home, and it is better to die here than to flee again to no one knows where.” That is the philosophy.

Before the war, about 300 thousand people lived in Kherson, now about 60 thousand remain . In the region – there were almost 1 million, about 140 thousand remain. Basically, these are those who either could not leave, or categorically did not want to. There are very few young people among them – mostly, these are elderly people, lonely pensioners, people with disabilities, people with limited mobility, socially vulnerable. All those who really have a hard time finding a place to go. But there are also many who simply believe: ” where I was born – there I fit in” , that no enemies will drive them out of their hometown.

The morale of the people is much better now than it was during the occupation. We joke that the people of Kherson are so used to war that they can distinguish the caliber of the “arrival” by ear. Sometimes you see an old woman sitting on a bench, somewhere nearby there is a banging noise, and she doesn’t even flinch. She says: “That’s a mortar, child, you can sit still” ( smiles ).

How common are cases where Russian drones deliberately target civilians or volunteers?

The Russians deliberately shoot at everyone they see. For them, there is no difference – it is a soldier, a doctor, a postman, a utility worker, a civilian. Enemy drones hunt every day: they drop grenades on utility vehicles, civilian cars, just on crowds of people.

Locals know: when a drone appears during the distribution of humanitarian aid, that’s it, you need to hide immediately, because a mine or IED will fly in right now. In addition to drones, recently the enemy has begun to actively use aviation: it drops glide bombs, so-called KABs, each weighing 500 kg of explosives on the Kherson region… Russians are terrorists. For them, the more victims, the better.

I believe that while the enemy is on the left bank, it will not be possible to completely protect Kherson from attacks. We can only minimize the risks . Absolute protection will come only when our military pushes the Russians back at least 80-100 kilometers. Well, and when the sky is closed, they will give us more air defense systems. We believe that this will happen. And for now, we live on adrenaline.

What needs do Kherson residents currently have for volunteers, in particular your NGO?

First of all, people need humanitarian aid. Volunteers continue to provide the townspeople with food, water, medicine, and hygiene products. This is especially true for those who cannot go to the store or hospital on their own. Medical care is in great demand : medications for chronic diseases, bandages, insulin, and painkillers – we are distributing all of this for free, because pharmacies are often not open, and if they are open, they are expensive for many.

There is also a “repair crew” project. When a “flight” occurs at a house, we immediately bring building materials: film, plywood to cover broken windows, tools to fix the roof.

Is the topic of evacuation still relevant?

Yes, we continue to be contacted with questions about evacuation – domestic and abroad. More often – after massive attacks on the city, when someone becomes completely scared. Then people say: “That’s it, we can’t do it anymore, help us leave.” Our friends from the NGO “Strong, because free”, ADRA, “Side by side” are helping with evacuation in Kherson, but the problem is that here we need not only evacuation, but also reintegration of evacuees in new communities – that is, we also need to help people get used to different conditions.

Another major area of ​​work for the public sector is psychological support . After experiencing stress, many people are in despair and depression. We have created a space in Kherson for women and children where you can come and relax mentally: watch a movie, talk to a psychologist, attend a master class. There is a generator there, you can charge your phone, make tea. There is an English language club, computer literacy, design, just some creative activities – to distract yourself. It works great, people say that thanks to such meetings they literally come back to life. This year we also opened a youth center, because teenagers also need attention and communication.

Well, legal aid is a direction that arose due to the specifics of our team, which has many lawyers and advocates. There are a lot of problems – restoring documents, lost property, registering statuses, applying for payments, etc. That’s why we launched a free legal aid project: we advise everyone who applies, we help with drafting applications.

In other regions, one of the popular requests is how to get compensation for destroyed housing. Is this the case in Kherson too?

Yes, many people ask: “How to get money for a house that was destroyed by the Russians?”. There are several directions here. The first is the internal state one. Since 2023, the “eReconstruction” program has been operating: you can submit an application for your destroyed apartment or house through the “Diya” application (fill out the form step by step), and the state must pay a certain amount over time (or issue a housing certificate).

But, frankly, this mechanism is still only gaining momentum, because the needs are huge, and there are no funds in the budget. However, I advise everyone to submit applications – so that there is a record, a priority. Then, when funding appears (whether through reparations from Russia or donor aid), people will receive their compensation according to the queue.

The second direction is international. Our state register is synchronized with the International Register of Damages (IRD), created at the Council of Europe. Last April, the procedure for accepting applications for future reparations from the Russian Federation officially started. Yes, so far this is also just a collection of information – no one gives money instantly. But again: it is important to register, to declare your losses. I am sure that the international community will pressure Russia to compensate. But for this, the IRD must have millions of cases.

Can you tell me how many such applications have already been submitted?

Unfortunately, people are not very active yet – as of March 2025, there were only about 20 thousand applications , although it was expected that there would be 10 million. Therefore, I urge Ukrainians to submit applications. Even if the house is in the occupied territory, even if there is no photo or other evidence – register anyway. The MRZ records the fact itself and the assessment of the damage, and then, when the mechanism starts working, experts will check and determine the amount of compensation.

Anyone who has suffered from the war can contact us: whether they have lost a home, some property, a business, or, God forbid, a loved one. We will suggest an algorithm, help collect documents, draw up applications. In complex cases, we even accompany the case, write requests to state bodies. Because it happens, for example, that a person left, and the house was destroyed by the occupiers and there is no data – then we help through the military administration to make an inspection report, to bring it into the register.

And most importantly, all this is free. We are implementing a legal aid project together with the German government foundation GIZ. But I want to emphasize: compensation is not a one-day affair. You need to be patient. The fact that the mechanisms have already been created is a huge plus.

Tatyana Urbanska

(C)UNIAN 2025