Sergii Moisijev happily looks at photos on his phone, which show jubilant people in his hometown of Kherson. They welcome the Ukrainian soldiers who are now in control of their hometown. news meets him at a refugee reception in Nittedal outside Oslo, where he lives with his wife and two children. Several other people from Kherson also live here. Ukrainian forces in full control of Kherson – Zelenskyj calls it a historic day It is a city that normally has around 300,000 inhabitants, but where many have fled after the Russian forces took control at the beginning of March. He is usually a teacher at the city’s pedagogical institute, part of the university. This summer, Sergii chose to take his family on a long, and not harmless, journey via the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula and Russia itself to Norway. All weekend, people in Kherson have been celebrating that the city is back under Ukrainian control. Photo: Yevhenii Zavhorodnii / AP Russia introduced its own mobile network In Norway, the family is part of around 30,000 refugees from Ukraine, who are waiting for the situation in their home country to normalize. – Of course we want to go back as quickly as possible. But right now it’s not safe enough, so we’ll probably stay here in Norway for a while longer, says Sergii Moisijev to news. He says that the Russian occupiers were quick to connect their own mobile network in the city. Thus they forced the population to buy Russian SIM cards. But thanks to this, it was also possible via the internet to keep in touch with the family, through platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram. Sergii Moisijev together with news’s Morten Jentoft, outside the refugee reception in Nittedal. Photo: William Jobling/news Kherson is split in two Moisijev says that although the city of Kherson itself has now been liberated, the city is in practice split in two. On the left side of the river, in villages such as Pidstepne and Oldeshki, most families from Kherson have their summer houses, says Moisijev. – This part of Kherson is still controlled by the Russians, says Moisijev, and adds that these areas are very vulnerable if something were to happen to the large dam in the Dnipro river, near the town of Nova Khakovka. His own parents went there for a period when there was fear that there would be a fight inside Kherson. – I have not yet made contact with my mother and father, says Moisejev. This map shows the city of Kherson on the Dnipro River, in southern Ukraine. Russia now controls only the areas south-east of the river. Photo: Andreas Emil Lund Those who cooperated can go to Russia Sergii Moisijev says that there were two or three of the teaching staff at the institute who chose to cooperate with the Russian occupation authorities. The rest refused, and later attempts were made to keep the teaching going via the internet, including from the city of Ivano-Frankivsk in the west of the country. Employees of the University of Kherson celebrate that the city is now free again. The ball was taken in the town of Ivano Frankivsk. Photo: University of Kherson – Those who chose to cooperate have one option: It is to flee to Russia, Moisiyev says firmly. He believes there is no place for them among the teaching staff at the institute in Kherson. Now the hunt for the collaborators in Ukraine begins. On the institute’s website, it has already been announced that a meeting will be held on Monday to discuss the future. Destroyed infrastructure On Saturday, the head of the military administration in Kherson county, Yaroslav Yanushevich, said that they are in place in the city, and that they will now start work to bring the city back to normal life. He has also announced a curfew at night, until the situation is more under control. Janushevich also urges drivers to stay away from the center of the city on Monday, because an attempt will then be made to clear this part of the city completely of mines. At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi says that the Russian forces had destroyed a lot of infrastructure before they left the city. This applies, among other things, to the heating system and the electricity grid. The work to get this once again has already started. There is extensive damage to the power grid in Ukraine. This photo was taken in the village of Osokorivka outside Kherson. Photo: VALENTYN OGIRENKO / Reuters Waiting to go home – What we now hope for is that all of Kherson, including the part on the left bank of the Dnipro, will be freed from Russian occupation, says Moisijev. – Then we can use the time to raise our children, to develop the region. – I have a daughter aged 4 and a son aged 13. For the time being, we will probably stay here in Norway, says Moisijev. He is very grateful for the way he and his family have been received. But now all attention is focused on what is happening in the home country. Sergii Moisijev will wait before making the decision to go home to Kherson. Photo: William Jobling/news – Unfortunately, I am afraid that the war may last quite a while yet. Now it is about freeing the parts of Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk and Luhansk, which are under Russian occupation, says Moisijev. – But I am both proud and happy about what is now happening in Ukraine, says the university teacher.
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