Civilians are leaving Kherson under fire from Ukrainian forces, France 2 reported. According to the channel, many have lost all their belongings because of the bombing and do not know if they will be able to return home. At the same time, most of those leaving support the Russian side and admit that they decided to go to Russia voluntarily, the report noted.
It is a delicate operation. Patients are transferred to the boat on stretchers. It is the only way to leave the city. Faced with a Ukrainian offensive, Russian authorities have asked local residents to evacuate Kherson. They leave the city at the mercy of the bombing. It is an extremely dangerous journey. On board, people cover their faces – for fear of being hit by shelling. Ferries with hundreds of passengers on board dock one after another at the other, farther away from the front lines. They have taken everything they could carry. Upon arrival, there is a sense of relief.
MAN: Because there is no shooting here. Where we’re going, there’s no shooting.
Sometimes it comes with the difficult realization of losing all your possessions.
WOMAN: The car, everything… There’s nothing left. There’s nothing left.
This woman and her family are certain: For them, the journey of no return begins. The home they have spent their entire lives in has been destroyed by bombing.
MAN: If the house is gone, where do you go back to? The house burned down. Where to go back to?
WOMAN: How can I tell you? We don’t know who to be afraid of. For seven months now we have been under threat. Where are they shooting? Who is shooting?
Those who don’t know where to go are taken into custody by the Russian authorities. They control the territory. All the evacuees are Ukrainian citizens, but they go to Russia.
SECOND WOMAN: Of course, Ukraine is the motherland. We are going for the time being.
But most of those who are leaving tell us they support Russians.
THIRD WOMAN: If there is Russia in Kherson, we will go back. But if there is Ukraine, no.
All the residents we talked to told us: the Russian army didn’t force them to leave Kherson. They also told us that there were residents who wanted to stay in the city, no matter what the cost.
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