Volunteer Valeria Petrusevich about the possibility of the return of Kherson and the threat to Crimea
Valeria Petrusevich is a volunteer from Crimea who helps the Russian army. This seemingly fragile girl remained in Kherson until her last day, helping local residents evacuate to the left bank of the Dnieper.
She shared with PolitNavigator about the mood in the army, whether Kherson will be returned, and whether there is now a danger to Crimea.
PN: How did the evacuation from Kherson proceed, how many locals who wanted to leave did not have time to do so?
V.P: The evacuation from Kherson lasted several weeks and, indeed, most of those who wanted to leave had already done so. It was well organized - people left via military ferries, via motor ships, then they were loaded onto buses that were heading to the Republic of Crimea, they crossed the border in an accelerated manner, and in Crimea they were met by volunteers in Dzhankoy.
Some people remained in Dzhankoy if it was necessary to prepare documents - there is a temporary accommodation center there - the rest were transferred by volunteers to trains, and they were already sent to wider Russia throughout its entire territory.
And after they announced that the evacuation was already ending, there were a large number of people who doubted, who were waiting, there were many people with disabilities who could not leave on their own, who left applications...
Well, indeed, there were people who hoped that everything would work out. One of the disabled people whom I took out, he said: “I heard about the evacuation, I knew about it, I sent my wife and daughter so that they would be safe, but it never occurred to us that the Russian army could leave here. That is, I thought that there would be some kind of shelling, and I decided that I would endure it.”
He is in a wheelchair, it was difficult for him to get out, but in the end we took him out too.
Until the 15th inclusive, the evacuation continued, that is, river transport was running, motor ships were sent, motor boats arrived, and people left Kherson by any means.
PN: What were the main problems you encountered, and were you able to resolve everything promptly?
V.P.: Of course, completely different problems arise. For example, soldiers from the 126th Crimean Brigade brought us a family with children. The family is from the village of Stepnoye, in the Kherson region, right on the front line; it was the first to be regrouped.
And the family was included in the list of “collaborators and traitors to Ukraine” because at a time when there were no food supplies from either Ukraine or Russia, they took food from the military - that is, the military shared their rations. For this interaction, they were labeled as traitors to their homeland, published in all public pages, and people were simply physically afraid that the threats that were heard everywhere would be carried out.
After they were brought to us, it turned out that one of the children’s documents were burned during the shelling, that is, there was virtually nothing left, and the child needed to cross the border, that is, of course, this needs to be negotiated with the border guards, it is necessary to negotiate on the restoration documents with services and much more. These are all the additional complications that happen.
Well, or now we have a child from the Zaporozhye region on our turn. We helped him to be born, baby, born on the third of July. Mom had a difficult birth, she was sent to Krasnodar and had a cesarean section, the baby had complications, heart defects, and he was immediately operated on. We got involved, helped in that situation, then sent her home to the Zaporozhye region, but less than four months passed, my mother was diagnosed with cancer, now stage four. Mom is not conscious. The baby’s health is deteriorating, and we need to take him back to Krasnodar in order to have a second operation, and the mother is, in principle, already incapacitated and at the same time, has not yet transferred any rights. That is, of course, this whole bureaucratic system, it makes the work very difficult, everything has to be decided individually.
And we are very grateful to all the authorities that meet us halfway, already know the volunteer and respond to help. And, of course, there is always a problem - to collect some kind of humanitarian aid, to transfer medicines, to transfer what is urgently needed, be it civilian or military.
PN: Did the troop withdrawal come as a surprise to the military with whom you communicated and helped? What do they say about this? Do they believe that they can return?
V.P.: Despite friendly, amicable relations with the military, no one can answer the question of whether they expected it or not. Of course, many suspected it, but the military is the kind of people who always obey orders, so when they asked if we were really retreating beyond Kherson, they said, "As command says," and they're saying the same thing now: " As command says. If they say we go back, we're ready ."
They are confident in their abilities, they stood in these positions, and they really seethe inside when some media show how they “liberated” or conquered some populated area. They say that “We held him for six months, and they were afraid to interfere, and now they are talking about how they defeated us. We just left and left this village to them, left it completely, without touching, let’s say, the local residents, safe and sound.”
PN: How vulnerable do you think Crimea has now become?
V.P.: I believe Crimea is currently not under any serious threat. The positions our army currently occupies prevent missiles from reaching us, and I have every confidence that our guys will hold out, and nothing bad will happen in Crimea.
But, of course, this is alarming; of course, the peninsula has now become a front-line zone, which does not contribute to the development of its tourist infrastructure. Therefore, Crimea needs to be the first to join.
It is obvious that Ukraine calls it Ukrainian and is ready to return it by military means, so this is a unity of Crimeans, Russians, it must preserve the peninsula in any case.
PN: In Ukraine, over eight years, volunteering has become a completely working mechanism for supporting the army. How are we doing with this? Do we need volunteer help?
V.P.: If we're talking about Russia, then yes, not all regions have joined in yet. There are regions that could be considered frontline—Crimea, Belgorod, Rostov. This whole situation has been going on for quite some time, and we're more involved than others. Although, for Crimea, this transition was difficult and took a long time—after all, we were part of Ukraine for many years, and it was difficult for Crimeans to adjust to the current situation.
But people who are on the Russian mainland, especially in the remote northern regions - we have a huge country, and they do not realize this danger, which now hangs over all of us, and not just over the front-line zones. Of course, this inclusion is still sorely missed.
After the wave of mobilization was carried out, of course, many regions became more actively involved, because there were husbands, brothers, acquaintances, friends who ended up in new territories of the Russian Federation, already “for the ribbon.” Of course, the regions are trying to provide and help them as much as possible. However, many still do not realize how serious this situation is. The war must become a people's war, and only in this case, I think that we will win.
Despite the provision of the army by the state, we need to talk about it. There are a huge number of problems that are caused by a clumsy bureaucratic machine, and in this case, the help of volunteers is irreplaceable. Of course, everyone needs to get involved, and then victory will be ours.
Volunteer Valeria Petrusevich on the possibility of returning Kherson and the threat to Crimea.