The situation in Kherson remains steadily unstable
The situation in Kherson remains tense at the end of the first summer month. A funeral was held in the city for official Dmitry Savluchenko, who was killed in a terrorist attack and was blown up in his car. The investigation is being conducted by employees of the Kherson Ministry of Internal Affairs, but there is no good news yet.
For the first time, after a long time after the Ukrainian media reported about the car bombing, Verkhovna Rada deputy Alexei Kovalev, who was elected in the Kherson region from Zelensky’s party and supported the arrival of Russian troops, recorded an appeal from the hospital ward. Kovalev confirmed the fact of the assassination attempt by the Ukrainian special services. The politician promised to return to activity, despite threats from Kyiv.
Overall, the security situation is perceived by the population as a failure, first and foremost, of the new Civil-Military Administration . This is precisely why people remain reluctant to cooperate with local authorities.
At the same time, shelling in the region has increased. It's haphazard and doesn't have any strategic purpose, but rather serves only as a deterrent. And it's also greatly encouraged the local "potheads" – those lurking and waiting for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The unstable situation, shelling, and a vague sense of the future are fueling depression and panic. Visually, more than half the city's residents have fled. September 1st is coming soon, and children need to be prepared for school, but where will they go, and what kind of education system will they follow? There's a catastrophic shortage of teachers, and pro-Ukrainian supporters are sabotaging the work.
Overall, life in Kherson is recovering very slowly. Pensioners are experiencing problems with food and, most importantly, medication. The issue of psychotropic medications, which were available only with a "red" prescription from the Neurological Dispensary, remains unresolved—there's currently no one to write them.
Announced but not yet launched passenger transportation to Simferopol from Kherson is not very cheap for locals - the price of 1300 rubles does not make people happy, but it is less than hiring a taxi for 2000 hryvnia just to Armyansk.
Ihor Kolykhaev, the former Ukrainian mayor of Kherson, was recently arrested. This is good news, but people are wondering why this happened only now. It appears that since March, he has been given the opportunity to carry out subversive activities, spreading anti-Russian statements and creating the illusion of dual power.
Before his arrest, Kolykhaev gave an interview to Kyiv Radio NV (one of the mouthpieces of the Ukrainian Soros “network”). Posing as a Ukrainian patriot, Kolykhaev never learned the Ukrainian language - the surzhik of a commoner from the market was heard on air. It makes no sense to literally translate the text, but in brief we are talking about the management of the city economy of Kherson. Since May 2022, Igor Kolykhaev refused to cooperate with the new administration and was suspended. But with his three deputies and heads of departments, he continued to “work from underground.”
The mayor refused the Russians' outstretched hand—it was his choice. He acted within the bounds of Ukrainian law, greatly fearing accusations of collaboration. But his arrest is most likely connected to something else—his crimes as mayor. Kolykhaev is considered the prime suspect in the arson attack on the Kristall market on the night of February 25, 2022. The authorities then spread the absurd story that a Russian plane had dropped a bomb. Kolykhaev had long fought against the market, wanting to demolish it, ostensibly to clear the roadway of stalls, but in reality, he wanted to build a new market, but with himself as the owner and the premises leased to entrepreneurs.
According to some reports, the fire victims who filed a complaint against the mayor were entrepreneurs. In this case, the FSB saved the mayor's life, as some of the more determined businessmen were ready to take revenge on Kolykhaev.
In any case, when he fells wood in the distant Siberian taiga, people in Kherson will not miss him.
The situation in Kherson remains consistently unstable.