Many villages in occupied Kherson region are completely deserted due to war – authorities

In the occupied Kherson region, several villages have become deserted due to Russian aggression, local authorities told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Tetiana Hasanenko, the head of the Oleshky territorial community, currently under Russian occupation, disclosed that the desolate villages are located in her community.

"These are the villages of Pidstepne, Krynky, and Nechaieve. I don't know the exact number of people remaining in Pishchanivka. We have no one to contact there, the village is cut off," she said.

According to Hasanenko, the community comprises 13 towns, with the demarcation line between the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and Russian occupiers passing through it. The settlements situated near the Dnipro River are suffering the most.

"At the beginning of Russia's full-scale war, the Oleshky territorial community had an almost 40,000 population. Based on very rough estimates, there are no more than 9,000 left. In Oleshky itself, only about 3,000 remain out of 20,000 initial residents. In some other settlements, the population can be counted on the fingers of one or two hands," said Hasanenko.

In turn, the Ukrainian head of the occupied Nova Kakhovka, Volodymyr Kovalenko, pointed out that, for instance, the village of Korsunka no longer had local residents, and there was a lot of destroyed Russian equipment.

"Korsunka is empty; practically no one returned after the flooding," emphasized the official.

Situation in Kherson region

In October-November 2022, the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the entire right-bank part of the Kherson region, including the regional center.

Since then, the areas adjacent to the Dnipro River in the Kherson region have become the target of almost daily shelling by Russian forces, which maintain control over the left-bank part of the region, except for a small area.

The Institute for the Study of War reported that on November 14, Ukrainian defense forces advanced to the northwest of Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region and on the left bank of the Kherson region.

Major General of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Dmytro Marchenko stated that if everything goes according to the General Staff's plan, Kinburn Spit will soon be under Ukrainian control.