11.11.2022 – this date will forever remain in the hearts of many Kherson residents as a symbol of freedom and an indomitable spirit. Almost nine months of Russian occupation have been a real challenge for the residents of this hero city.
The way to freedom
The beginning of November…. The destruction of the main logistical routes across the Dnipro, a shortage of ammunition, and the approach of winter forced the Russian command to make a rapid decision to retreat from the right bank of the Kherson region. Realizing they could not hold the bridgehead, the Russians began a hasty retreat to the left bank of the Dnipro.
At that time, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a southern counteroffensive, which resulted in Ukrainian liberators entering Kherson, the administrative center of the Kherson region, on November 11, 2022, putting an end to the bloody terror of the Russian occupiers.
On the day of the city’s liberation, almost all Kherson residents gathered on Freedom Square, chanting “Glory to the Ukrainian Armed Forces!”, hugging soldiers, singing songs, waving Ukrainian flags, and tearing down Russian propaganda posters and flags that the occupiers had hung throughout the city.
«russian world» left behind a looted and destroyed city, chaos, and a haunting memory of the war that claimed the lives of many innocent Kherson residents.
Before fleeing Kherson, the occupiers destroyed all critical infrastructure: communications, water, heat, and electricity. With the support of numerous partners and benefactors, Kherson residents quickly began to address the aftermath of the occupation and rebuild what had been destroyed by the war.
However, the enemy’s retreat did not mark the end of the trials for Kherson and the entire right bank of the Kherson region…
For two years since the de-occupation, the city has been subjected to daily shelling by the enemy. In the last ten months alone, the occupiers have shelled the Kherson region about 36,000 times, firing nearly 200,000 shells at the region.
As a result of strikes, over 31,000 infrastructure facilities were damaged and destroyed, including schools, kindergartens, hospitals, residents’ houses, and administrative buildings. Since the liberation from the Russian invaders, about 700 people have been killed, including 12 children, and around 3,500 residents have been injured, including 130 children.
In total, over 48,000 people, including more than 6,000 children, have been evacuated from the right-bank part of the Kherson region. Currently, around 160,000 people live in the region, including almost 80,000 in Kherson.
