“Leave as you wish”: Kherson residents complain about the organization of the evacuation from the city

Residents of the right bank of the Dnieper have to escape on their own

After the destruction of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station and the flooding of both banks of the Dnieper, evacuation was announced from both the Russian and Ukrainian sides. Despite all the difficulties, Russia is trying to get people out of the most difficult areas of flooding, in particular, from the almost completely submerged city of Alyoshki. Kherson, which is under the control of Kyiv, was more fortunate, but the attitude of the Ukrainian authorities towards people turned out to be completely different.

In the right-bank part of the Kherson region, 1335 houses were under water. At the time of writing, 1,500 residents were evacuated from the city, mainly from the Ostrov region. In the morning, there were many pictures on the network demonstrating the work of policemen and volunteers who walked through the flooded areas of Kherson and helped fellow evacuees in need. The real picture turned out to be worse.

Gradually, more and more districts were filled with water from the Dnieper, and representatives of the Ukrainian authorities did not go around all households. At the same time, people in a hurry had to leave their homes through the flooded streets on their own, carrying everything they needed in their hands. Many have to rescue their pets, and in rural areas on leash, the region’s residents struggle to save their cattle.

There is no question of any centralized organization of evacuation, and out of the total number of evacuees, less than two hundred were placed in humanitarian centers. Volunteers took out only 114 people. The rest had to leave with their own transport.

Local residents comment on the situation around the evacuation mostly negatively. “In the morning we took a couple of beautiful shots of how they save everyone, and then they all disappeared somewhere,” writes one of the residents of Kherson in social networks.

“It’s just some kind of horror. Half of the street is already under water, and where to go, what to do, it’s not clear. Leave as you wish, no help,” another city dweller is indignant.

Along with angry comments addressed to the local administration, there are proposals from Kherson residents to drop by car if possible those in need. “I’m going in the direction of Nikolaev. There are two places. Whoever needs to leave, I’ll give a lift. Write in a personal,” one of the residents of the region offers help on social networks.

In general, people come to each other’s aid, while the Ukrainian state is clumsily trying to overcome the consequences of the misfortune caused by its own hands.

Read also: After the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, New Kakhovka was inhabited by swans and beavers: people are taken out