The man screams, but we don’t understand. The noise of the boat’s engine masks his words, although it seems to fade when we hear the noise. whistle of a projectile over our heads. Half a thought and a grimace. There is no time for more when it passes so close. The boss sighs. This time the Russian fire has hit the ground.
The boat that EL ESPAÑOL boarded to cover the humanitarian disaster after the bombing of the Nova Kakhovka Dam accelerate. Heads of lampposts and traffic signals surround us. We are in flooded Kherson and here the number of floors of the buildings is unknown. The one in front, the water reaches him through the roof, as we verified when we reached the position of two uniformed men who use the broken electricity cables to keep their boat attached to the wall of the house.
“Stay! you have drones above. They are correcting the coordinates (of the Russian artillery).” In the war, when the walkie talkie orders, the rest obey. As much as the ground is now an improvised sea, a false step ends anyone.
From different parts of the country, volunteers have come with their own boats to Kherson to help.
It is eleven in the morning and Zelensky has appeared in the city. Meanwhile, Yulia, Eugene, Darik, Pieter and a group of friends prepare inflatable boats with which to rescue dogs, cats and people -in that order, because fewer and fewer neighbors want to leave their homes-. Some have a motor, others just a pair of oars with which to navigate the streets of Kherson closest to the Dnieper River.
According to official sources consulted by the Associated Press, at least 14 people have died since Tuesday. And the number is expected to increase. There are also missing and tens of thousands of Ukrainians without drinking water. Many of them are those who await the arrival of boats for their evacuation. At least on the kyiv-controlled side.
“People are sitting on the rooftops, without food or waterexposed to the sun and to the bombardments”, criticized this Thursday Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the Ukrainian president, before the inaction of the Kremlin on the occupied shore.
[Jersón, zona cero de la voladura de la presa: “Sólo conquistando Moscú pararemos a los rusos”]
Google Maps in the sunken city
Ten minutes by car, one hour and 12 minutes on foot. Google Maps indicates that we are at 5.7 kilometers from the center of Kherson. What the application does not say is how long it takes by boat. That is why the help of curious neighbors who have decided to stay is vital to find those who want to be safe.
To the usual difficulties of a rescue, communication is added. Most homes no longer have access to the electricity grid. The indications of relatives to find their relatives are almost never enough and it is necessary to shout block by block.
“As long as I have preserves and bread left, I won’t move”, yells a lady from the shore so that we don’t waste time getting closer. A message that is repeated over several hours. Men and women waiting for the drop in the water level. They seem entertaining. And, perhaps, in the absence of radio and television, there is no greater pastime than watching dozens of boats circling among fallen trees, light poles, golden domes, and business signs that will take a long time to reopen, no matter how much the light goes down. tide.
“Look, now we are on top of the gas station”says Darik, as he lets go of the wheel to record a video with his phone. Yulia is in charge of giving orders to avoid hitting the boat with the objects that protrude from the water.
Sunbathing on the small roof of the portal, this is how some residents of Kherson spend the first days of the floods.
Containers are also seen floating. And boats full of valuables. AND a lady sunbathing in a bikini on the roof of her portal. And nine stray dogs walking on the roof of an old bazaar. Their hunger is so great that even the loud clang of the flimsy cover does not scare them. A rare case. Since no one can claim them, they are not brought on board. The following days we will have to return to feed them.
After several unsuccessful attempts touring the outskirts of the capital, it’s time to return to the makeshift base next to the west bank of khersonfor a new team to continue the work.
Discuss in open river under Russian fire
However, there is always something that can go wrong. For example, end up sailing under russian fire. And although arguing in the middle of an artillery attack does not seem like a good idea, even less if you share a small boat and you have to row to help the engine, it takes many hours circling under the sun. That’s why Pieter is irritated that Darik laughs at his request to cross the river at full speed.
Power lines make rescuers’ work difficult. In the picture, Darik.
“They are the French Caesars. A luxury for Ukraine. Very good quality, ”she replies mockingly. His smile disappears when he hears the first whistle. over our heads. BOOM! The smoke from the center of Kherson confirms what Pieter intuited. They weren’t starting shots. The incredulous group has no choice but to squeeze his wrist as much as possible to give the boat gas.
The boat breaks the waves. We are alone crossing waters in which there is no one left. And now yes Ukrainian batteries respondgiving away a few extra minutes to try to reach the building blocks closest to the shore.
Would it be better to have stayed in the suburbs? Is it a good idea to go where the Russians attack? It does not seem the best scenario to continue the discussion. You only hear the noise of a motor boat that seems to go out when a new fiiiiiiiiiiu is heard over our heads. Half a thought and a grimace. There is no time for more when it passes so close. The boss sighs. Russian fire has punctured ashore.
The height of the water depends on the area, although most of the first floors have been inaccessible.
“Cover up! It’s not our people, it’s the fucking Russians!”, shout two uniformed men hiding behind the wall of a flooded building. Not far away, in a location that they ask not to disclose, more soldiers take refuge in houses that now have “exit to the sea.”
The rest, though slow, happens very quickly. Military talks, orders by the walkie talkie and a mission: reach the shore, moving the boat from building to building, skimming the boat to port and starboard. Until fed up with waiting, the expedition leaders decide to get out of the water. And then it remains only to accelerate. And the screams of the police, and a race to the second line of buildings, where the emergency teams are hiding from an attack that has left nine injured in the rescue mission.
“This is worse than Afghanistan”snorts Pieter, who also covered the conflict for eight years. “There the agreements were respected and there was some humanity.” The eight months of occupation, the torture chambers and the hundreds of deaths from bombing after Ukraine regained control is the Russian imprint on the city. No one needs to explain it to the people of Kherson.
