As the residents of Kherson continued to celebrate the retreat of Russian troops from the southern Ukrainian port city, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that dangers still lay ahead from Russian soldiers who were digging defenses outside the city and had left behind mines as they fled.
“It is very important now to tell all Kherson residents to be careful and not try to independently check any buildings and objects left by the occupiers,” the Ukrainian leader said in his nightly address on Saturday. “Please, dear citizens of Kherson, be careful and inform the police or rescuers about any suspicious objects you see.”
Mr. Zelensky’s plea reflected Ukrainian concerns that some Russian soldiers were still in the area, fortifying defensive positions on the other side of the Dnipro River, and that it was unclear whether they would fight, flee or surrender. Ukrainian military officials said some Russian soldiers in and around Kherson city were still actively fighting with Ukrainian forces, and that the city remained vulnerable to Russian artillery fire.
Ukrainian officials had cleared more than 2,000 explosive devices, mines, trip wires, and unexploded ammunition, Mr. Zelensky said. Ten bomb squads were active in the area, and one soldier had been wounded while working, he added.
Kherson, a vital Black Sea port and a gateway to the occupied Crimean Peninsula, was the first major city to fall to Russian forces after the start of their invasion on Feb. 24. Their retreat has left the city’s residents jubilant as Ukraine reclaims territory in the south of the country. Kyiv is in control in more than 60 settlements around Kherson, Mr. Zelensky said.
But amid the celebration, a devastating humanitarian crisis was coming into focus in Kherson, a city with a prewar population in the hundreds of thousands that has been left without basic services.
“Before fleeing from Kherson, the occupiers destroyed all critical infrastructure — communication, water supply, heat, electricity,” Mr. Zelensky said. “But we will restore everything.”
Food and medicine were also in short supply, but local officials said that they were expecting humanitarian aid to be delivered from the southern city of Mykolaiv and other nearby areas. Kherson’s current population is down to about 80,000, the city’s mayor, Roman Golovnya, told a local television station.
Another pledge came from the head of the Ukrainian railways, Oleksandr Kamyshin, who said that crews will repair damaged tracks and rail cars. “A train to Kherson will be launched soon,” he said on the Telegram social network, without providing specifics.
Ukrainian officials also said they had restored television and radio service. “We are currently broadcasting only one channel of Ukrainian television and radio, as the primary task for us was to provide Ukrainians with access to information as quickly as possible,” said an official with the state information service, Serhiy Semerey.
Concerns also were growing on the outskirts of Kherson, where a dam about 40 miles to the northeast, in the town of Nova Kakhovka, had suffered damage from Thursday into Friday, when Russian forces retreated, according to satellite images.
For weeks, the Ukrainians and the Russians have accused the other side of planning to damage the dam. But the Ukrainians have said they have no incentive to flood their own land, and accused Moscow of preparing a “false flag” operation to blow up the dam itself. Damage to the reservoir, which holds roughly the amount of water as Utah’s Great Salt Lake, could flood as many 80 towns, villages and cities, including Kherson.
Marc Santora contributed reporting.
The New York Times
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