Residents have no water, no internet connection and little electricity. But when a CNN crew rolled into town on Saturday, the mood was euphoric.
As the crew filmed live in Kherson’s central square, some in the crowd of locals sang the national anthem while others shouted “Slava Ukrayini!” – glory to Ukraine, a patriotic greeting.
People in Ukraine awoke from a night of jubilant celebration after the Kremlin announced that its troops had withdrawn across the Dnieper River from Kherson, the only regional capital captured by the army Russian during the ongoing invasion. (AP Photo/Nina Lyashonok)
“We feel free, we are not slaves, we are Ukrainians,” resident Olga told CNN.
Locals have also climbed to the top of buildings, including the cinema, in the square to raise Ukrainian flags. Soldiers passing by are greeted with cheers and asked to autograph the flags.
When Russian troops arrived at the start of the war, this was a town trying to resist: people were taken away, tortured, disappeared, according to residents.
“We were terrified [the] In the Russian army, we were afraid of soldiers who can come at any time to our house, to our house, just open the door, as if they live here, and steal, kidnap, torture,” said Olga.
But now, people flock to the newly liberated city’s central square, draped in Ukrainian flags, chanting and chanting “Freedom for Ukraine.”
Ukrainians gather in the city center to celebrate the recovery of the city of Kherson, Odesa, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Nina Lyashonok)
“Everyone here is celebrating in the square here. People are carrying the Ukrainian flag, hugging the soldiers, they’ve come out to see what it’s like to have freedom,” Robertson said.
Katerina described the release as the “best day” of her life after eight months under Russian occupation. “Our city is free, my street is free,” he told CNN.
Another local resident named Andrew said he was very happy to see Ukrainian soldiers.
“I think there were a lot of people killed here. We don’t know yet,” he said of the period under occupation.
The CNN team appeared to be the first international journalists to arrive in central Kherson since it changed hands in the past 48 hours.
Ukrainians gather in the city center to celebrate the reclaiming of the city of Kherson, with flags and signs reading “Kherson is Ukraine”. (AP Photo/Nina Lyashonok)
On Friday, Russia announced it had withdrawn from the west bank of the Dnipro River in the strategic southern Kherson region, leaving the regional capital of the same name and surrounding areas to the Ukrainians.
The withdrawal represents a major blow to Putin’s war effort in Ukraine. Kherson was the only regional capital in Ukraine that Russian forces had captured since the February invasion. Their retreat eastward across the Dnipro cedes large swathes of land that Russia has occupied since the early days of the war, and which Putin had officially declared as Russian territory just five weeks ago.
“It was a very hard time for everyone. Every Ukrainian family was waiting for our soldiers, our army,” a Kherson resident told CNN on Saturday, recalling Russia’s months-long occupation.
The woman said it felt “amazing” to see Ukrainian troops in Kherson.
Ukrainians gather in central Kyiv to celebrate the recapture of the city of Kherson, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
“We feel your support every day, thank you very much,” the woman added, before hugging Robertson.
Speaking Saturday about the next steps for the Ukrainian military, CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton said: “This is going to be a major urban operation. What you’re going to see is a methodical operation to clear buildings of potential traps and mines.
“Another thing that the Ukrainians will have to do is that they will have to advance their systems so that they can counter any possible Russian artillery that is on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River.
“You can see that the Ukrainians have moved to this bank of the river, now they control this area, they will have to clear some remaining Russian forces that did not leave the west bank of the Dnipro river. But those that are will probably surrender or, in essence, it will be removed from the fight.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released a nightly video of celebrations in the city. (AP)
On Friday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released an overnight video of celebrations in the city, where a crowd waved flags and chanted “ZSU,” the Ukrainian acronym for the armed forces.
Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian military’s southern operational command said Russian forces had been “urgently loading onto boats that appeared suitable for crossing and attempting to escape” across the river.
It was not clear whether all Russian troops had left Kherson and the region in general. Serhiy Khlan, a member of Ukraine’s Kherson regional council, said the city was “almost under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” but warned that some Russian troops may have remained in civilian clothes.
He warned that many Russian troops “threw away their military uniforms and are now hiding in civilian clothes.”