“I left my friends and my house”, says Aleksei. On February 24, the day of the declaration of war, he was already in Kryvyi Rih, 180 kilometers north of Kherson, for a business trip. Since then, of course, he has never returned. “I hope to be in Kherson at the beginning of autumn and that we will be able to recover our lands, he confides. Every day, we think about it and we believe in it. I just want to go home quietly.”
>> Counter-offensive, troop movements… Why the war in Ukraine could enter a new phase in the south of the country
And if Aleksei believes in it, it is because the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the south of the country, precisely on the Kherson front, is taking shape. And the strategy is becoming clearer. First, strike in depth, and destroy the infrastructures held by the Russians: fuel depots, armed bases… Then, bombard the bridges to prevent the deployment of enemy troops from the East. Finally, carry out a slow, progressive offensive. The Ukrainians thus hope to methodically regain the territory lost in the spring.
“The counter-offensive must begin as soon as possible and we must retake our lands, as far as Crimea.”
Since the beginning of the war, about 35,000 exiles from the Kherson region have passed through the reception center of Kryvyi Rih. And many today share Aleksei’s hope. Natalia Patroucheva, director of this reception center, has been working for eight years with displaced people from the Donbass and she prefers to temper the enthusiasm of the most optimistic.
“You have to be patient and brave. We believe in our army and our people. Everyone is doing everything possible to help our countryassures Natalia, who does not believe in the rapid reconquest hoped for by some. But how do we go on the attack if we don’t have enough ammunition and long-range weapons?”
“Russia has to leave on its own. And if it doesn’t want to, we’ll kick it out of here. We just have to wait for everything to be better.”
Natalia Patrushevaat franceinfo
However, we must not lose hope, according to her. At the beginning of March, the reception center of Kryvyi Rih housed displaced people from Boutcha and northern kyiv. Today, the vast majority of them have returned to their homes, to an area deserted by Russian troops.