Civilians flee Kherson after Russia attacks liberated city

A few weeks ago, hundreds of civilians flocked to Kherson in southern Ukraine on Saturday to celebrate the recapture.

T.Hundreds of people as the country pays tribute to the millions of Ukrainians who died in Stalin-era famine and strives to ensure that Russia’s war in Ukraine does not deprive people around the world of vital food exports. people have emigrated.

Lines of trucks, vans, cars, trailers or carrying pets and other goods stretched for over a mile outside Kherson.

Days of heavy artillery bombardment by Russian forces led to a bittersweet escape. Many civilians were happy that the city was back, but regretted not being able to stay.

“It’s a pity we have to leave the house,” Yevgeny Yankov said as he climbed into the van. “We are free now, but we have to go because there are shells and there are dead people among us.”

Svitlana Romanivna stuck her head out and added: Our neighborhood was on fire and it was a nightmare. everything was on fire. ”

The evacuation of 400 patients from Kherson Psychiatric Hospital, which is near both the power plant and the front line, began on Thursday and will continue, said Emily Foley, emergency project coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in Ukraine. Two or three days.

Kherson was one of many cities that came under heavy attack by Russian artillery and drones, and suffered particularly heavy fire.

Elsewhere, dams primarily targeted infrastructure, but civilian casualties were reported.

On Saturday, repair teams across the country rushed to restore damaged heat, electricity and water services.

Russia ramps up attacks on critical infrastructure after failure on the battlefield.

A prominent Russian nationalist said Saturday that the Russian army does not have enough doctors.

In the capital city of Kiev, President Volodymyr Zelensky will lead a day of intense diplomacy and host a number of European Union leaders for a conference on international food security to discuss food security and exports of agricultural products from the country. hosted the summit.

It was attended by the Prime Ministers of Belgium, Poland and Lithuania and the President of Hungary, with many participating via video.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Shmykhal said Ukraine has allocated 900 million hryvnia (£20 million) to buy corn for Yemen, Sudan, Kenya and Nigeria despite financial difficulties.

“Ukraine knows what hunger is and does not want people to die again in the 21st century because of Russia and its inhumane methods,” he said, referring to the Interfax agency. .

Zelensky said Ukraine is trying to ship grain to countries in need.

“Our goal is ambitious and concrete: to lift at least five million people from hunger,” he said.

Food supply reminders were timely. Ukrainians believe that dictator Joseph Joseph confiscated food and grain stockpiles by the Soviet government under his Stalin his 90th anniversary from the outbreak of the Holodomor, or Great Famine, in which he killed more than 3 million people in his two years. was commemorating Deported many Ukrainians.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz celebrated the anniversary, citing similarities to the impact of the war in Ukraine on global markets.

Exports from Ukraine have recovered under a UN-brokered deal but are still well below pre-war levels, pushing up global prices.

In a video message, Scholz said: “Today, we are united in declaring the importance of never using hunger as a weapon again.

This is why, from Afghanistan to Madagascar, the Sahel to the Horn of Africa, we are witnessing the worst global food crisis in recent years with dire consequences for millions of people. ”

He said Germany will provide an additional €15m (£13m) for future grain shipments from Ukraine through the UN World Food Programme.

Ukraine and Russia provided about 30% of global wheat and barley exports, 20% of corn and more than 50% of sunflower oil last year, according to the United Nations.

Kiev’s mayor Vitaly Klitschko said in a Telegram on Saturday that more than 3,000 professionals from the local public service have continued to work “around the clock” and have managed to restore heat to more than 90% of the residences. Told.

He said about a quarter of Kiev’s residents remained without electricity, but water service was restored throughout the city.