Kherson cries, but he does so with joy. Ukrainian troops are already celebrating the surrender of the city on the streets of the capital after an occupation that has displaced more than half of its total population. Visibly moved, those who have resisted the “forced relocations” imposed by Moscow have taken to the streets to pay homage to those they consider their saviors.
From children to grandparents, as if it were a holiday without war, the inhabitants of Kherson have cheered the soldiers of kyiv. In the central streets the national anthem resounds and on all the masts of the city the yellow and blue are already waving. However, and despite the remarkable joy, the mayor of the city warns: “The humanitarian situation is critical, there is a lack of water, medicine and bread in the city.”
The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, spoke along the same lines yesterday afternoon, after having been able to view the jubilant images in question. Although he considers that the liberation of the city is “a historical fact”, the Ukrainian top leader took advantage of his speech to the media to denounce the danger that some spaces still have: “There are still 2,000 mines, tripwires and unexploded shells”. The dismantling of this type of elements in areas that, once the fighting has ended, are used by civilians, is at this moment one of the main tasks of the Ukrainian specialists on the ground, who have asked the population for caution until they can verify that the enclave is safe.
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kyiv fears that the city is completely mined, that these explosives are not only on the streets, but also hidden in buildings and even in the city’s own pipes. Their detection and subsequent deactivation, given the technology with which they are made, is increasingly complicated.
Zelenski, like the city councilor, has denounced the exercise of “humiliation” that, in his eyes, the pro-Russian authorities have attempted since they took control of the city. “Before fleeing Kherson, the occupiers destroyed all critical infrastructure: communications, water, heating, electricity, they have the same goal everywhere: to humiliate people as much as possible. But we will restore everything, believe me,” he said.
Missile hail over Mykolaiv
Kherson left Russia on the run after months threatening a street-to-street combat that ultimately never took place. However, this hasty flight has not prevented Russian forces from continuing to hit the Ukrainian rear guard closest to the city that they have already surrendered. Mykolaivlocated just 100 kilometers from the urban center of Kherson, woke up this Friday under a hail of projectiles that caused the death of six Ukrainian civilians.
Despite having handed over the city, Moscow knows the importance of keeping one of the most important lines tight on the current front of this conflict. Kherson is the gateway to crimeaannexed by Putin in 2014, and every inch of land kyiv regains in this region further complicates managing supply lines to a peninsula of vital importance to Russia.
In Crimea there is also an important Russian military garrison, among which the Black Sea Fleet stands out. With the advent of weapons from the West, it is not unreasonable to think that, when the time comes, Ukraine could reach a distance from where it could reach Russian targets on the peninsula.
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Another important element when it comes to trying to delay the advance of kyiv is the relevance of the military dnipro river. It bisects the city of Kherson, and even if the Russians only have control of one of the banks, if Moscow loses its only foothold on the Ukraine waterway could de facto cut off much of Russia’s supply lines. A situation that, in the end, would allow it to start advancing more easily on other occupied areas on the southern front, such as the region of Zaporizhiawhere Putin’s army still controls the nuclear power plant located in the enclave.
Also, Russia needs the Dnipro irrigation canal both to supply the civilian population and to guarantee the proper functioning of its infrastructures. In 2014, after Moscow’s seizure of Crimea, kyiv blocked the supply of water through this route. After taking Russia’s Kherson and Zaporizhia this winter, one of the first decisions he made was to reopen this irrigation line.
“The west bank is important for both parties: for Russia it is important to ensure the firmness of the defense of the Zaporizhia direction, and for Ukraine it is important to liberate this region and cut these three important arteries: the land corridor to Crimea, the supply water to Crimea and retake control of the nuclear power plant,” Oleh Zhdanov, a military analyst, told the news agency Reuters.
