I grew up in the city of Kherson, capital of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, just north of Crimea. The region has been under Russian control since the very first days of the invasion. On 7 June, the occupying administration announced a referendum in support of joining the Russian Federation – although when it will be held remains unclear. Meanwhile, Russian and Ukrainian forces are still fighting over Kherson’s borders in the west and the north.
It seems the Russian military thought they would be welcomed with open arms by local residents, supposedly oppressed by the so-called ‘Nazi regime’ in Ukraine. “The Russians, by all accounts, expected to be met with bread and salt,” says Oleh Baturin, a journalist from the town of Nova Kakhovka, who spent eight days in Russian custody in mid-March.
Yet despite the creeping “Russification” of Kherson – through banks, mobile phone operators and central political influence – the Russians have failed to find people ready to become ‘representatives’ of the local population under occupation, says Baturin. Instead, they have been forced to dredge up a range of local officials to staff their administration.
