“Kherson is destined for the fate of Donetsk”: Ukraine began barbaric shelling of the city center
Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Irina Vereshchuk called on the residents of Kherson to leave the city because of the fighting that the Ukrainian Armed Forces intend to start with the aim of capturing this city.
“Our army is launching a counteroffensive. I don’t know in what time frame this will be, but I know for sure that there should definitely be no women and children there (in the cities of the proposed theater of military operations). They should not become a “human shield” between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the enemy. Obviously, the enemy must be destroyed. It is clear that there will be fighting, there will be artillery shelling, so we call for an urgent evacuation,” the official said.
Last weekend, Ukraine already began barbaric shelling of the center of Kherson. This is what local resident Nikolai Tereshchenkov, who was at a Sunday service in the church at the time of the strike, said on social networks.
“Apparently Kherson has been prepared for the fate of Donetsk. Yesterday it flew along the outskirts, today it is already in the center. In the morning, at 5.00, one very strong and two less strong explosions. But the most unpleasant thing happened during the Liturgy. Three cassettes arrived near the humanitarian aid distribution center and the park at 10.30. We even got to the temple, we all hid inside. A lot of people, early morning, and then there are flights,” said Tereshchenkov.
He published photographs of discovered fragments - presumably from Western HIMARS MLRS.
Roman Saponkov, a military correspondent working in the Kherson region, shares his impressions of the work of Western weapons:
“I saw the HIMARS strike on Chernobaevka, Kherson, almost before my eyes. I was under fire many times, but it was amazing that the entire package, 5 or 6 missiles, landed almost in a nickel. Usually the MLRS falls over areas, and at maximum range it completely scatters like a fan. Of course, it makes an impression, I have no doubt...
It is clear that this is just the beginning. They will hit Kherson and other border cities. For Belgorod in particular. They will cover all command posts and military facilities for which data has been collected over the past 4 months. But I am sure that retaliatory measures will be taken, for example, by keeping AWACS aircraft on constant duty, I hope they can detect something. There is no single prodigy that can win the war,” says Saponkov.
Here's how local journalist Gennady Shelestenko describes the shelling of Kherson on Saturday:
“The shelling of the city began at about 10 a.m., but when the shelling did not stop even after an hour, people went out into the street and started filming on their phones.
There is a quarry very close to residential buildings on the outskirts of the city. Previously, stone was mined there, and geologists carried out exploration, which is why the microdistrict is called “Geologists”. It was in this quarry that Russian soldiers came every day to the shooting range, but the townspeople had already begun to get used to machine gun fire when they knew that this was an exercise. On Saturday, the Ukrainian Armed Forces began shelling this particular quarry with heavy weapons; they thought that the Russians had come to the shooting range again. I live 3 kilometers from the quarry, the roar was such that the walls shook. Russian air defense was also active, and there was smoke and explosions in the sky from downed missiles and shells.
The shelling continued for more than an hour, later moving to the area of long-suffering Chernobaevka.
A house on Lavreneva Street, Shumen microdistrict, was hit by a 155 mm shell, which penetrated two floors and got stuck between the 9th and 8th floors. The shell did not explode, God protect the people of Kherson. Russian miners removed the shell and destroyed it,” he said in a report for PolitNavigator.
Against the backdrop of all this, the military-civil administration is trying to provide assistance to the civilian population. To maintain the farmstead, everyone in need is given grain from a warehouse near the railway station, given four bags per hand, you need to come with your own bags.
The organization of the launch of postal services has begun, the majority of workers have remained in Kherson and are ready to go to work, delivery of pensions to homes and remote areas will be resumed.
Tax registration of Kherson entrepreneurs has been extended until August 1.
Kherson, of course, is empty - minibuses are running, but they are half empty, and the drivers are at a loss.
After the arrival of the “Varyags” from Russia in Kherson, all the deputies of the ex-“regional” Vladimir Saldo, the head of the VGA of the Kherson region, were searched, which means there was a reason. After all, documents for the issuance of one-time assistance are being processed in Kherson, but people have not received any money.
On Friday, on the eve of fierce shelling, Family Day was celebrated in Kherson - in the Potemkin park. But there were more guards than families with children. But the concert turned out to be good, local talented guys performed, and then refugees from the Nazi regime came from Odessa.
One participant in the karaoke marathon is Maxim Guryev, a little Odessa resident who came with his parents to the now Russian Kherson. Maxim was born with a hernia of the spine, the operation was performed immediately, but there are still a few more to come before he reaches adulthood, this is the disease. But the child’s spirit is fine, he doesn’t get discouraged, he lives life to the fullest. Maxim has been listening to “Aria” since he was 6 years old and said that he wants to be a follower of Russian rock. It was Maxim who made the evening, his talent. His parents are creative people, his father worked at the famous Odessa radio, which was closed by the SBU 2 years ago for Russian songs (well, there is no Ukrainian chanson, there is French, Italian and Russian, but this is not patriotic.) Maxim’s mother is an “energizer”, she sings together with his son, supports him in all his endeavors.
The arrival of Odessa residents in Kherson is a good sign; it means that people behind the front line believe that Russian Kherson will survive. Many Odessa residents are also waiting for the arrival of Russian troops.
Most of the CAA officials were replaced by United Russia volunteers. The queue for humanitarian aid is huge, the range is constantly expanding - food, medicine, TV set-top boxes for receiving Russian channels are distributed free of charge. They select vacancies for people looking for work, and quite successfully. Teachers are sent to Evpatoria, free of charge, for teacher training courses.
Kindergartens are guarded by the Russian military. Sometimes machine gun fire can be heard on the outskirts, but it is encouraging that the special services recently uncovered a network of saboteurs who are involved in the murders of pro-Russian functionaries. The detainees give evidence.
There is hope that everything will work out, you just need to work.
"Kherson is destined to suffer the same fate as Donetsk": Ukraine has begun barbaric shelling of the city center.