On Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russian forces destroyed key infrastructure before retreating, while the mayor of Kherson said the humanitarian situation was “dire” due to shortages of medicine and bread. The retreating Russian troops also left behind thousands of mines, wire ropes and unexploded shells. Roman Golovnya, an advisor to the city’s local administration, said: “The Russian occupation forces and collaborators did everything possible to make those people who remained in the city suffer as much as possible during these days, weeks and months of waiting”. The retreating Russians completely destroyed all critical infrastructure, including communications, electricity, water, heat, a 100-meter-tall television tower, and at least four bridges. Ukrainian authorities are trying to assess the damage at the Nova Kakhovka dam, on the Dnipro River, about 40 miles to the northeast, which the Russians tried to blow up during their retreat. Satellite images show signs of destruction “with parts of the dam and the gates of the dam destroyed”. However, it is not clear whether the structural integrity of the reservoir is at risk. With a water volume of 18.2 cubic kilometers, if the Kakhovka reservoir is destroyed it could flood a huge area, including the city of Kherson. The Nova Kakhovka Dam was damaged after Russia withdrew south of the Dnipro River People testified that Russian troops carried out rampant looting in the city, stealing private cars, washing machines, microwave ovens, women’s clothes and other household items. They removed 15,000 exhibits from Kherson’s art museum and stole the bones of Grigory Potemkin, a friend and lover of Catherine the Great, from a crypt in the city’s cathedral. On Sunday it was revealed that they had also taken most of the animals from Kherson Zoo. Llamas, wolves, donkeys, raccoons and squirrels were all sent to the Crimea. “The zoo’s raccoon was not stolen by some stupid soldier, but by the Russian command,” said Oleksandr Todorchuk, head of UAnimals, which rescues animals in war. Ukrainians have accused the Russians of blowing up dozens of schools across the province, further damaging the prospects of children who have already missed nine months of classes. In the occupied village of Mala Oleksandrivka, Russian soldiers turned the local school into a military base and parked their tanks next to the sports field. In Mylove – released on Thursday – they blew up the main school and kindergarten as they set off in armored vehicles. About 300 people stayed in the village during the occupation, including teenagers and elementary school children. They waved at visiting cars and smiled. “Our children have not had an education since February 24,” said Serhii Melnikov, a local resident. With little or no Internet, it was difficult for students to access e-learning, he said, adding that the village was without electricity, water and natural gas, a situation typical of the rural Kherson region. Utility companies on Sunday said they were working steadily to restore connections. They said it would take at least a month before electricity could be restored in the city of Kherson. In some of the region’s northern communities closer to the former front line, power could be restored as early as next week, they said. However, Iryna, a resident of the city of Kherson, told a Telegram channel that hope that light and water would be restored in a short time remained distant. “The children are already doing a lot, but we have to face reality,” he added. “Electricity today, tomorrow, even the day after tomorrow will not appear … everything will be later, we just have to be patient and wait.” Yulianna, another resident from Kherson, said: “The war is still going on in our country and in our city. We waited eight months, we can wait more weeks. The most important thing is that the city has been liberated.” As has already happened in other Ukrainian regions captured by the Russians at the start of their invasion, the first move of Moscow’s troops was to destroy the telecommunications towers. For almost eight months, the inhabitants of Kherson are cut off from the world, from time and space. The lack of telephone networks meant no more contact with the outside world. On Saturday, a wifi hotspot was set up next to the main bus station using a satellite dish, with passers-by able to connect. A damaged building in Kherson after the Russian retreat. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Some have already started gathering firewood to prepare for a cold and bleak winter. According to US officials, the Kremlin’s decision to withdraw from Kherson was based in part on concerns that its troops would “be cut off from supplies as winter sets in.” Extra security was in place as military police checked locals’ documents and hunted down Russian soldiers and saboteurs who might have been disguised as civilians. The regional governor, Jaroslav Janusevic, said authorities would maintain a curfew from 5pm to 8am and ban people from entering or leaving the city. “The enemy has mined all critical infrastructure items. We try to meet within a few days and [then] open the city,” he told Ukrainian TV, adding that mobile phone services could start working on Sunday. The mines left behind by Russian forces are becoming one of Ukraine’s biggest challenges, especially as it scrambles to clear and restore the ruins. According to Kyiv, more than 2,000 explosive devices ranging from booby traps to mines have already been removed. In the Kharkiv region, two road construction workers were killed and four injured by a landmine while trying to re-secure the road in a formerly occupied area. In his final video speech on Sunday, Zelensky said the Ukrainian military’s spectacular counteroffensive would continue. “We will definitely reach our state borders – all parts of Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders,” Zelesnyi said. He promised the capture of the southern cities of Henichesk – named by Russia as its new administrative “capital” for the Kherson region – and Melitopolis. His statement suggests that Crimea – illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014 – is an active Ukrainian military target.
