On February 24, 2022, the Russian army crossed the Perekop Isthmus and entered the Kherson region. A week later, on March 1, the Russian occupiers broke through to the regional center on armored vehicles. Kherson was under Russian occupation for almost eight months, until November 11, 2022.
Kherson was the only regional centre that came under the control of the Russian Federation after the full-scale invasion. The invaders even held a pseudo-referendum, “annexing” it to the Russian Federation.
The city came under Russian control from the very beginning of the war. Hundreds of people came to rallies with Ukrainian flags, threw themselves at enemy tanks, trying to drive away columns with the letters Z.
In Buzkovy Park, Russian forces shot the local territorial defence that was resisting the occupiers. Many people were also arrested for supporting Ukraine. Many had to leave the city.
On November 9, 2022, the Russians announced their retreat from Kherson. Two days later, videos emerged of Ukrainian Armed Forces troops moving through Kherson, along with residents who took to the streets to meet their defenders.
“Last year, the entire South of Ukraine became confident that Russia never comes back ‘forever,’ no matter how many times it repeats it. Because Ukraine always comes back – always! When we know our goal. When it is a common goal. When we are united. And when we unite others around the Ukrainian goal,” President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Then the photo of the flag raised over the Kherson Regional State Administration building instantly went viral.
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