Half of Kherson’s population has left the region – head of the Kherson regional military administration
MAZURENKO ALONA – Tuesday, 24 May 2022, 17:51
The head of the Kherson regional military administration, Gennady Lahuta, claimed that 50% of the population had left the region because people are not willing to live under occupation.
Source: Lahuta on the television 24-hour news Telethon
Direct speech: "Currently, probably half of the Oblast, about 50% of population of the Kherson region have already left, because people are not willing to live under occupation and with the occupying forces.
They want to leave as soon as possible, leaving their homes, businesses. They leave everything. More and more people do not want to live under occupation.
The occupiers and collaborators are not letting people out. [They want] someone to ‘work with.’".
Details: Lahuta reported that for 10 days the Russian occupiers have not allowed people to leave the region in the direction of Ukraine.
Lahuta also added that the whole region is waiting to be liberated.
Background:
- On 25 April, the Russian military entered the Kherson City Council building and began to manage affairs from there.
- On 19 May, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian president, claimed that nothing could be done with these territories without the will of the people of the occupied territories of Ukraine.
- On 20 May, the Russian military blocked all exits from the temporarily occupied Kherson region into Ukrainian-controlled territory.
- In early May, Andrei Turchak, secretary general of Putin's United Russia party, visited Kherson and said that "Russia is here forever."
- Later, the so-called Kherson Military-Civil Administration, appointed by the occupiers, reported it would ask Russian President Vladimir Putin to incorporate the Kherson region into Russia.
- Putin official says Kherson Region should enter the Russian Federation "as legitimately as Crimea."
- On 16 May, the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration reported that the occupying troops had been instructed to prepare the captured town of Energodar for a "referendum."