Kherson, the largest Ukrainian city that Russia managed to occupy, has been fully liberated and returned to Ukrainian control. Kherson was always a site of fierce resistance, resistance that was met with brutality (gift link). Atrocities of this sort have been found everywhere the Russians took over, but in Kherson they were particularly widespread.

Witnesses recount detentions, torture, disappearances in occupied Kherson

…Days after Russian forces fled in retreat, surrendering the only regional capital Russia had managed to seize since the start of its invasion, the horrors that occurred in this stately 18th-century port city are just starting to come into focus.

During a visit to the city on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said occupying Russian forces had committed “hundreds” of atrocities in the Kherson area, though he said the precise number was not yet known.

What is already apparent, however, is that the Russians here operated a detention system on a scale not seen in any of the dozens of other cities, towns and villages liberated by Ukrainian forces in recent weeks….

 
As you can imagine, residents are jubilant, and met every soldier with kisses and praise.

 
And afterwards, they retrieved the Ukrainian flags they had carefully hidden, and let them fly free once again. Sláva Ukrayíni!

Many people asked how Ukrainians in the occupation managed to save the flags. Here's how. They were keeping them cause they *had no doubt* Ukrainian Armed Forces will be back to release them. Our nation is undefeatable pic.twitter.com/KU4sBcErPH

— Olena Halushka (@OlenaHalushka) November 13, 2022

 
I know there are people calling for Ukraine to “negotiate” with Putin, which frankly sounds like a call to surrender, at least to me. I’ll say more about that soon when I have time for a longer post.