The situation in the south of Ukraine, in that part of Kherson, Zaporozhye and Nikolayev regions that are occupied by Russian troops, is obviously better than in other directions. Both militarily and in humanitarian terms
The Russian Armed Forces entered these areas during the first days and with minimal fighting. There is no destruction or casualties. There is no special regime in most settlements either, the damaged equipment has been partially removed from the roads.
In addition, this is a predominantly agricultural region, so there are no major problems with food supplies: large steppe areas, few people, no subversive groups.
People here are not as patriotic as in the north, for example. And here they haven’t had time to launch mobilization like in other big cities. In general, here you can see the “Crimean scenario”, albeit with a stretch.
People are slowly coming to their senses. They are even beginning to go to work, for example, in the housing and utilities sector.
For a long time there was a big problem with fuel – no way to get approval for its transportation. Now fuel is being brought in little by little. Some gas stations have started working, but of course there are long lines. Cost is 40-50 UAH per litre.
Humanitarian aid is being brought, but it is instantly dispersed. Although there is no hunger, markets and supermarkets are open. However, groceries are expensive and people have very little money. Because of this crowds of people gather at relief distributions.
The population has a problem with finances: hryvnia is in circulation, but it is difficult to withdraw money from cards, as working ATMs are very rare. Supermarkets have come up with a cash-out scheme. A switch to the rouble is being prepared for the near future.
Unofficially, Melitopol became the centre of this part. There, work with the population was promptly deployed, and an administration headed by Rogov, a former AntiMaidan activist, was installed. Russian television is broadcast in Melitopol and Kherson. In Melitopol they have set up a radio station – the airwaves are mostly music, plus announcements by the civil-military administration.
There is no direct hatred towards Russians. It is felt that people were waiting which way the situation would swing, whether the Russians would stay or the Ukrainians would come back. Local elites are cautiously watching the fighting in Donbass and will only cooperate if they succeed. There are few Ukrainian activists in general. In each city the backbone is a few dozen people. You have seen the rallies.
The Russian soldiers at the posts are instructed to behave as politely as possible and avoid conflict. If they swear, they ignore them, if they throw themselves at them, they pack them in.