Russian soldiers stand near trucks in Kherson, Ukraine on March 7. (Olexandr Chornyi / AP)
A resident of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson said her city has been like a “zombie apocalypse” since Russian troops took power.
The woman, who asked to be identified as Tanya, said in an interview with CNN International that the invasion had physical and psychological consequences.
“It’s very difficult to live in such conditions physically because you can’t do things you did before the war,” she said. “You can’t go out that much, you can’t breathe fresh air, so it’s hard physically.”
“Psychologically it’s even harder because you see all those empty shelves in the shops, you see all those armed people coming out to walk along you, on the street, and it’s horrible because they’re all over town. So it’s difficult, “she continued
The new leadership of the Ukrainian region of Kherson, installed by Russia, announced today its plans to make an official request to become part of the Russian Federation.
“The authorities of the Kherson region will ask the president of Russia to include the region in Russia,” a statement said in a new channel in the Telegram, which appears to be linked to the pro-Russian administration.
Tanya said she was afraid of Russian soldiers patrolling the city and that no one she knew wanted to be part of Russia.
“I do not know a person who would like to join Crimea – as part of the Russian Federation. I don’t know any people in Kherson, I just talk to them on the street, they don’t want to be part of the Russian Federation, they saw what they did, “she said.
Tanya said many people have left the city and it is quite empty until 3pm local time.
“It looks like a zombie apocalypse; There is no one here. There are a lot of people in the morning, but now I see that our city is just slowly dying, unfortunately, “she said.
The woman told CNN that she wanted to leave the city – as many of her friends have already done – but this is very difficult because there are no official evacuation corridors and dozens of Russian checkpoints.
She said the station in the city has not been operating since the Russians took over the city, and Russian troops are now using it as a base.
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