After the pro-Moscow forces left the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine, the authorities began to remove and tear up posters expressing support for Russia.
Banners in support of privileges on Russian passports and pensions were replaced by other banners with simple slogans such as “Kherson is a city of heroes” and “Citizens, you are free” on a yellow background.
“The moment our soldiers entered (the city), these posters were printed and given to us,” Antonina Dobrozhynska, spokeswoman for the Ukrainian government in the region, said Tuesday as workers removed pro-Russian propaganda from a billboard behind her. .
“The wreckage of the city” .. Zelensky accuses Russia of deliberately destroying Kherson
Russian troops flooded the city with posters in the nine months of their control of the city, and some of the banners bore the slogan “Russia is the future!”
Russia had previously said it had completed its withdrawal across the Dnieper without losing a single soldier, but the Ukrainians painted a picture of a chaotic withdrawal during which Russian soldiers threw off their uniforms and others drowned trying to escape.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram following the withdrawal that Kherson became “ours” after Russia announced it had completed the withdrawal of its troops from that city in the south of the country.
“Our people are ours, Kherson,” he said, along with a Ukrainian flag emoji and amateur footage of the city showing Ukrainian forces gathering with city residents.
In a video message, Zelensky said that special forces of the armed forces had already entered the southern city of Kherson after the Russian withdrawal, calling the moment historic.
