While the resistance of the Ukrainian military against the Russian invasion is well documented, the past few days have seen The increasingly popular disobedience of the Russian armyIn the south of Ukraine, in particular, there have been several protests in areas where Russian troops have arrived.
At least several hundred people gathered in the center of Kherson on Saturday to protest Russia captures Black Sea port,
A video of the demonstrations showed people walking along the main square of Kherson, despite occasional shots fired. It is not clear where the bullets came from, but a small contingent of Russian soldiers is seen guarding the regional council building.
Protesters chanted “Ukraine” and the most excitement was raised when a young man waving Ukraine’s blue and yellow flag attacked a Russian military carrier.
A participant in the protest managed to send a video in broken English: “People want to show that Kherson is Ukraine, and all brave people go to this meeting, not afraid of the Russian army. ,
Another demonstration took place in Kherson on Sunday. Video of the incident shows that it was short but no less resolute. An elderly woman continued to look into the camera in a video and silently said: “Save our country! Let them all die with Putin.”
In the town of Nova Kakhovka, an elderly woman cheers as she greets Russian soldiers with brooms and dustbins. Two men raise a placard to hoist the Ukrainian flag outside the city hall.
Later a video emerged of smoke rising from the crowd amid the sound of gunshots. Ukraine’s news agency Interfax said five people were wounded in firing by Russian forces – apparently on the heads of protesters – and used stun grenades.
It seemed that almost every town in Kherson was out on Sunday. In Novolexica, hundreds of people sang the national anthem and shouted “Ukraine is on top” as they walked down a rural road.
And in Kalanchak, near Crimea, hundreds of people sang the national anthem and shouted “Ukraine is at the top” as they walked along a rural street—several generations of local people banded together in national solidarity.
Then they raised a huge Ukrainian flag and harassed the masked and heavily armed Russian soldiers. The women shouted, “Get out of our country, we don’t need you! Get out of our country!”
Protests against Russia have been taking place since the middle of last week, often involving a few dozen people, from Burdiansk on Ukraine’s southern coast to Konotop, hundreds of miles north between Kyiv and Kharkiv.