Ukrainians jubilant after Kherson liberation despite looming 'humanitarian catastrophe'

ITV News Security Editor Rohit Kachroo and his team were among the first international reporters to enter Kherson after the Russians withdrew

The work to restore normal life in Kherson has begun and it will be a giant undertaking, but this has done nothing to dampen the mood of the Ukrainians living there.

Russia pulled out of the city last week, in the latest withdrawal from the occupying forces.

Residents said departing Russian troops plundered the city, carting away loot as they withdrew last week.

They also wrecked key infrastructure before retreating across the wide Dnieper River to its east bank.

One Ukrainian official described the situation in Kherson as "a humanitarian catastrophe."

Running water and working electricity is rare in the area and working heaters ahead of the winter is nearly non-existent.

But this had done nothing to dampen the spirit of the jubilant residents of Kherson who say they would choose this hardship any day over the Russian occupation.

ITV News was one of the first international media organisations to enter the city after the Russians withdrew.

They were greeted by constant celebrations and renditions of the national anthem in the central square.

Hugging, dancing and music could be seen and heard across the city.

But the damage of the occupation can also be seen everywhere.

ITV News spoke to Dima, who was imprisoned by the Russians for 49 days in the former international business centre which was turned into a prison.

His captors attached electrodes to his earlobes after he raised a Ukrainian flag in the city.

He slept on a small mat not much bigger than his torso, in an empty windowless room.

In his nightly video address on Sunday Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, accused Russian forces of having committed "the same atrocities as in other regions of our country."

In his nightly video address on Sunday, Zelenskyy said without details that "investigators have already documented more than 400 Russian war crimes, and the bodies of both civilians and military personnel have been found."

"In the Kherson region, the Russian army left behind the same atrocities as in other regions of our country," he said. "We will find and bring to justice every murderer. Without a doubt."

Although the liberation of Kherson, the capital of the Kherson region, is a major victory for the Ukrainians, there is still a long road ahead.

Russia still controls about 70% of the wider Kherson region.

Russia has pulled back to its side of the Dnieper River, which is a massive natural defensive barrier, breaking through will present a difficult challenge.

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