As thousands of Ukrainians continue to flee Russian-occupied parts of southern Ukraine, they run a gauntlet of harassment by Russian troops, sometimes coming under fire
More than a dozen people have spoken to CNN at length about their harrowing journeys out of the Kherson region, which has been under Russian control since the beginning of the invasion in late February.
They also tell of the unexplained disappearances at night, the climate of fear and the acute shortages that led them to flee. Ukrainian officials said Friday that the Russians have now blocked exits from Kherson to areas controlled by the Ukrainian government and are trying to send everyone who wants to leave to Crimea. They say the Russians have intensified patrols and increased the number of checkpoints. Several people have been killed and many more injured when their convoys became stranded in what's known as the"gray zone" between Russian and Ukrainian lines. Read MoreAt least two convoys were marooned for days around Davydiv Brid, a village set in rolling farmland where the regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia meet. One column was fired on a week ago: A man was killed and several people injured. This week, at least three people were killed and many more injured in the village when a convoy of about 100 civilian vehicles was fired on, according to witnesses. The prosecutors' office in nearby Kryvyi Rih told CNN that gathering evidence was difficult because the area was regularly under fire. The convoy hit this week was actually trying to enter Kherson when it was fired on. People in the convoy told CNN that many were returning to deliver medicines; others to look after family members. Some could not afford higher rents in Ukrainian-controlled areas and had decided to go home. A woman and her child arrive at an evacuation point for people fleeing Mariupol, Melitopol and surrounding towns under Russian control.Petro was one of those trying to get into Kherson. He told CNN how people had cowered by a river as"shells flew first in one direction, then in the other direction above us." CNN is using only the first names of witnesses, to protect them and their families from possible retribution. The next afternoon -- on May 17 -- Petro said the column itself came under fire."I heard a whistling sound in the sky. We ran to the nearest barn, fell to the ground and started praying."When I came out of the barn, I saw that the explosions had hit a place next to our column." There was worse to come. Another burst of shells landed even more closely."Glass from the buses rained down on me, the buses themselves were slashed," Petro said. When he emerged, Petro found dozens of vehicles damaged, and several bodies."There was a Volkswagen Polo, the car was torn apart. I don't know where the people from that car went. I saw two male corpses."Lots of blood, lots of injured people, they were screaming." Petro fled to a Ukrainian checkpoint, where, he said,"there were ambulances, a lot of bloodied and bandaged people." Anatoliy was also in the convoy."During the first salvo, there were 20 to 30 people at the epicenter of the shelling. Of this number of people, only five people remained unharmed, including me," he said. Later, Russian soldiers came to the site and took away seven of the injured, Anatoliy said. He heard the soldiers say they would be taken to a hospital in Nova Kakhovka, about 30 miles away. Several days on the road While some people are returning to Kherson, many more are trying desperately to leave. Video on Thursday showed a column of hundreds of cars trying to get into Ukrainian-held territory south of Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian officials estimated there were 1,000 vehicles at the site by Thursday night. People often spend several days on the road trying to find a safe escape route, negotiating dozens of roadblocks, not always successfully. Daniil, who is 18, eventually did find a way out -- along with his girlfriend and their parents. But on their first attempt, he said, the Russians fired at the wheels of the cars leading the convoy and told them to turn back. The convoy included cancer patients in need of treatment, he said. For eight days in a row, Daniil said, many in the convoy tried to move north and were sent back."And on the eighth day we left the house at 4 a.m. and were the first in the column. And Russians let us go." ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCH Harrowing allegations emerge from Russian-occupied Kherson region 03:43CNN spoke to Lyudmila on Friday. By then her family of 12 were on their seventh day on the road. But they were still far from Ukrainian-controlled territory. She said she knew people had been killed and injured trying to cross the"gray zone" but added:"There is no work in Kherson, our money is running out. We live on the seventh floor and we are afraid that a rocket will hit us." One man told CNN there were two-dozen Russian checkpoints between Kherson and Melitopol alone. He said he and his family waited three days at a checkpoint, sleeping in their car. They ultimately gave up and traveled to another area, where they spent a night at a destroyed gas station before being able to cross near Zaporizhzhia. Escaping 'disappearances' and shortages Ukrainian officials estimate that about half the population of Kherson has now left the region. Some are motivated by shortages or lack of work, others by what they see as the oppressive Russian presence. Sergey, who is in his 40s, told CNN that he and his family had decided to leave as a"pro-Russian way of life" was being introduced."There are special passes they have implemented: if they don't like you, they can take you away," he said. Daniil said he wanted to leave because he and his friends are all designers who had lost their jobs."And we couldn't work. And none of us wanted to live in the occupation." He also said screaming was often heard at night in Kherson."And then it turns out that someone was abducted, killed, and so on. My friend was driving a car at midnight. His car was taken away. He was stripped and beaten.Convoys of drivers have attempted to leave Kherson."The Russians like to shoot," he said."They have nothing to do, they shoot in the air and find it funny that everyone is hiding. They also like to drive an armored personnel carrier, turn on the spotlight and shine through the windows until people leave the house." Mariya is now safe in Ukrainian-held territory, but she recalls recent weeks in Kherson with a shudder. "We constantly lived in fear: There are many roadblocks around the city. They check passports and phones, especially for men." She had attended protests in Kherson in March."I went to the rallies, filmed them, posted them on Instagram. Until Russians started shooting. And we stopped going to rallies." The conflict was never far away, Mariya said:"Lots of explosions -- outside the city there is Chernobaivka, where hostilities are constantly going on." The Russians have established a base at Chernobaivka, where there is an airfield. It has come under frequent attack by the Ukrainians. Photos: Russia invades UkraineBuses with Ukrainian servicemen evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol wait near a prison in Olyonivka, territory under the government of the Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine, on May 17.Hide Caption 1 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian servicemen fire mortars towards Russian positions in the east Kharkiv region, Ukraine, on May 17.Hide Caption 2 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineTatyana, 68, walks at a cemetery in search of her husband's grave in the settlement of Staryi Krym outside Mariupol, Ukraine, on May 15.Hide Caption 3 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian service personnel check information inside a basement used as a command post in a village retaken by Ukrainian forces in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, May 15.Hide Caption 4 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineGrieving relatives attend the funeral of a Ukrainian military serviceman, Pankratov Oleksandr, 49, in Lviv, Ukraine, on May 14.Hide Caption 5 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineRussian soldier Vadim Shishimarin, 21, suspected of violations of the laws and norms of war, sits inside a defendants' cage during a court hearing in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 13.Hide Caption 6 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian people evacuated from Mariupol arrive on buses at a registration and processing area for internally displaced people in Zaporizhzhia, on May 8.Hide Caption 7 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian serviceman and emergency workers carry the body of a Russian soldier into a refrigerated train in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on May 5. The bodies of more than 40 Russian soldiers who were found after battles around Kharkiv are being stored in the refrigerated car. Hide Caption 8 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineSmoke rises from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Thursday, May 5. Heavy fighting is raging at the besieged steel plant as Russian forces attempt to capture Mariupol, a strategically vital port city.Hide Caption 9 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian soldiers clear mines at the Antonov Airport in Hostomel, Ukraine, on May 5.Hide Caption 10 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineVehicles are on fire at an oil depot in Makiivka, Ukraine, after missiles struck a facility in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces on Wednesday, May 4.Hide Caption 11 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineNatalia Pototska cries next to her grandson Matviy as they arrive at a center for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Monday, May 2.Hide Caption 12 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePro-Russian troops stand guard next to a bus transporting evacuees near a temporary accommodation center in the Ukrainian village of Bezimenne on Sunday, May 1.Hide Caption 13 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, center, meets with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a congressional delegation visited Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, April 30. Pelosi is the most senior US official to meet with Zelensky since Russia invaded Ukraine.Hide Caption 14 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA man stands on the balcony of his apartment after a missile strike damaged a residential building in Ukraine's Donetsk region on April 30.Hide Caption 15 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA woman walks through the site of an explosion in Kyiv on April 29. Russia struck the Ukrainian capital shortly after a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and UN Secretary-General António Guterres.Hide Caption 16 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineGuterres speaks during his meeting with Zelensky on April 28.Hide Caption 17 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA team member with the International Atomic Energy Agency arrives at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, on April 26. Russian forces withdrew from Chernobyl, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, in March.Hide Caption 18 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineMaria, 13, holds a photograph of her father, Yurii Alekseev, as she and her godfather, Igor Tarkovskii, attend Alekseev's funeral in Bucha, Ukraine, on April 26. Alekseev, 50, was a territorial defense member who was killed by Russian soldiers, according to his family.Hide Caption 19 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin attend a meeting in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 24.Hide Caption 20 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA couple looks at a memorial wall in Lviv, Ukraine, on April 24. The wall shows Ukrainian civilians who have been killed during the Russian invasion.Hide Caption 21 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople pray during an Easter church service at St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv on April 24.Hide Caption 22 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineWomen walk between sandbags and anti-tank barricades in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, to attend a blessing of traditional Easter food baskets on April 23.Hide Caption 23 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineMembers of the Ukrainian Red Cross talk before moving an elderly woman to an ambulance in a bunker under a factory in Severodonetsk, Ukraine, on April 22.Hide Caption 24 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA woman who recently evacuated Mariupol cries after arriving at a registration center for internally displaced people in Zaporizhzhia on April 21. Hide Caption 25 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineEmergency workers remove the body of a person killed during the Russian attack on Mariupol.Hide Caption 26 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineVova, 10, looks at the body of his mother, Maryna, lying in a coffin as his father, Ivan, prays during her funeral in Bucha on April 20. She died during Russia's occupation of the city, as the family sheltered in a cold basement for more than a month.Hide Caption 27 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, right, speaks with European Council President Charles Michel during a meeting in Kyiv on April 20.Hide Caption 28 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA Ukrainian serviceman stands next to a multiple rocket-launch system in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine on April 20.Hide Caption 29 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineFirefighters work in Lviv after a civilian building was hit by a Russian missile on April 18.Hide Caption 30 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineSmoke rises above Mariupol on April 18.Hide Caption 31 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineWomen clean inside a damaged building at the Vizar company military-industrial complex in Vyshneve, Ukraine, on April 15. The site, on the outskirts of Kyiv, was hit by Russian strikes.Hide Caption 32 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineFirefighters work at a burning building in Kharkiv following a missile attack near the Kharkiv International Airport on April 12.Hide Caption 33 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineMourners react in Stebnyk, Ukraine, during the funeral ceremony of Ukrainian serviceman Roman Tiaka. Tiaka was 47.Hide Caption 34 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian forces fire rockets toward Russian positions in Ukraine's Donbas region on April 10.Hide Caption 35 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA man works to catalog some of the bodies of civilians who were killed in and around Bucha. Shocking images showing the bodies of civilians scattered across the suburb of Kyiv sparked international outrage and raised the urgency of ongoing investigations into alleged Russian war crimes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Russian leaders to be held accountable for the actions of the nation's military. The Russian Ministry of Defense, without evidence, claimed the extensive footage of Bucha was"fake."Hide Caption 36 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineSearch-and-rescue teams remove debris after the Ukrainian army regained control of Borodianka, Ukraine, on April 6.Hide Caption 37 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople wait to board a train as they flee Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on April 5.Hide Caption 38 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineDestruction is seen in Borodianka on April 5. Borodianka was home to 13,000 people before the war, but most fled after Russia's invasion. What was left of the town, after intense shelling and devastating airstrikes, was then occupied by Russian forces.Hide Caption 39 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the media about the alleged atrocities in Bucha on April 4."It's very difficult to negotiate when you see what have done here," Zelensky emphasized as he stood in the town, surrounded by security.Hide Caption 40 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineAnna Zhelisko touches the casket of her grandson, Ukrainian soldier Dmitry Zhelisko, as it arrives for his funeral in Chervonohrad, Ukraine, on April 3. He died fighting the Russian army near Kharkiv. Hide Caption 41 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineSmoke rises over Odesa, Ukraine, on April 3. The Russian defense ministry confirmed a strike on an oil refinery and fuel storage facilities in the port city.Hide Caption 42 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineBodies lie on a street in Bucha on April 2. Images captured by Agence France-Presse showed at least 20 civilian men dead.Hide Caption 43 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA Ukrainian serviceman stands with a handcuffed Russian soldier in Kharkiv on March 31.Hide Caption 44 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA satellite image shows a shelled warehouse that was being used by the Red Cross in Mariupol on March 29. Hide Caption 45 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineRussian and Ukrainian delegations meet in Istanbul for talks on March 29. Russia said it would"drastically reduce" its military assault on the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv. The announcement came after Ukrainian and Western intelligence assessments recently suggested that Russia's advance on Kyiv was stalling. The talks also covered other important issues, including the future of the eastern Donbas region, the fate of Crimea, a broad alliance of security guarantors and a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.Hide Caption 46 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA woman named Julia cries next to her 6-year-old daughter, Veronika, while talking to the press in Brovary, Ukraine, on March 29.Hide Caption 47 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineThe regional government headquarters of Mykolaiv, Ukraine, is damaged following a Russian attack on March 29. At least nine people were killed, according to the Mykolaiv regional media office's Telegram channel.Hide Caption 48 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineAn armored convoy of pro-Russian troops travel on a road leading to Mariupol on March 28.Hide Caption 49 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA volunteer weaves a bulletproof vest in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on March 28.Hide Caption 50 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA woman lights a candle during the Sunday service at a monastery in Odesa on March 27.Hide Caption 51 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA Ukrainian serviceman stands in a heavily damaged building in Stoyanka, Ukraine, on March 27.Hide Caption 52 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineOrphaned children travel by train after fleeing the Russian-controlled town of Polohy, Ukraine, on March 26.Hide Caption 53 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA man recovers items from a burning shop following a Russian attack in Kharkiv on March 25.Hide Caption 54 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses world leaders via video at the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium, on March 24. Zelensky stopped short of issuing his usual request for a no-fly zone, but he did say Ukraine needs fighter jets, tanks and better air defenses.Hide Caption 55 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA child holds a Ukrainian flag in front of the Taras Shevchenko monument as members of the Ukrainian National Guard band perform in Lviv on March 24.Hide Caption 56 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA firefighter sprays water inside a house that was destroyed by shelling in Kyiv on March 23.Hide Caption 57 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineSvetlana Ilyuhina looks at the wreckage of her home in Kyiv following a Russian rocket attack on March 23."First there was smoke, and then everything went black," she said.Hide Caption 58 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePictures lie amid the rubble of a house in Kyiv on March 23.Hide Caption 59 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA woman cleans up a room March 21 in a building that was damaged by bombing in Kyiv.Hide Caption 60 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineThe Retroville shopping mall is seen in Kyiv after Russian shelling on March 21.Hide Caption 61 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople share dinner and sing"Happy Birthday" during a celebration in Kyiv on March 20. This studio space has turned into a bomb shelter for approximately 25 artists who are volunteering to help the war effort. Hide Caption 62 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineFormer Ukrainian Parliament member Tetiana Chornovol, now a service member and operator of an anti-tank guided missile system, examines a Russian tank she destroyed in a recent battle in the Kyiv region.Hide Caption 63 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA Ukrainian serviceman stands among debris after shelling in a residential area in Kyiv on March 18. Hide Caption 64 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUS President Joe Biden holds a virtual meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in this photo that was released by the White House on March 18. Biden sought to use the 110-minute call to dissuade Xi from assisting Russia in its war on Ukraine.Hide Caption 65 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineStaff members attend to a child at a children's hospital in Zaporizhzhia on March 18.Hide Caption 66 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineRussian President Vladimir Putin attends a rally at a stadium in Moscow on March 18. Speaking from a stage in front of a banner that read"for a world without Nazism," Putin said Russia"will definitely implement all our plans" in Ukraine. He insisted that national unity was the strongest in a long time, even as many people flee Russia or protest against war in the streets. State workers were told by authorities to attend the celebration, which commemorated the eighth year of Russia's annexation of Crimea.Hide Caption 67 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky receives a standing ovation as he virtually addresses the US Congress on March 16. The historic speech occurred as the United States is under pressure to provide more military assistance to the embattled country.Hide Caption 68 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineAn elderly woman is helped by police officers after she was rescued from an apartment that was hit by shelling in Kyiv on March 15.Hide Caption 69 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineFirefighters work to extinguish flames at an apartment building in Kyiv on March 15.Hide Caption 70 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineMilitary cadets attend a funeral ceremony at a church in Lviv on March 15. The funeral was for four of the Ukrainian servicemen who were killed during an airstrike on the Yavoriv military base near the Polish border. Local authorities say 35 people were killed.Hide Caption 71 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA woman walks past a damaged window to lay flowers at a makeshift memorial for victims in Donetsk, Ukraine, on March 15.Hide Caption 72 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian soldiers take cover from incoming artillery fire in Irpin, Ukraine, on March 13.Hide Caption 73 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA Ukrainian soldier surveys a destroyed government building in Kharkiv on March 13.Hide Caption 74 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA mother and son rest in Lviv, Ukraine, while waiting to board a train to Poland on March 12.Hide Caption 75 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineAn explosion is seen at an apartment building in Mariupol on March 11. The city in southeastern Ukraine has been besieged by Russian forces.Hide Caption 76 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineMariana Vishegirskaya's husband, Yuri, holds their newborn daughter, Veronika, at a hospital in Mariupol on March 11. Vishegirskaya survived the maternity hospital bombing in the city earlier in the week.Hide Caption 77 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople pay their respects during a funeral service for three Ukrainian soldiers in Lviv on March 11. Senior Soldier Andrii Stefanyshyn, 39; Senior Lt. Taras Didukh, 25; and Sgt. Dmytro Kabakov, 58, were laid to rest at the Saints Peter and Paul Garrison Church. Even in this sacred space, the sounds of war intruded: an air raid siren audible under the sound of prayer and weeping. Yet no one stirred. Residents are now inured to the near-daily warnings of an air attack.Hide Caption 78 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineRussian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov gives a news conference after meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Antalya, Turkey, on March 10. Two weeks into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Lavrov falsely claimed that his country"did not attack" its neighbor.Hide Caption 79 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA resident takes shelter in a basement in Irpin on March 10. Due to heavy fighting, Irpin has been without heat, water or electricity for several days.Hide Caption 80 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineEmergency workers carry an injured pregnant woman outside of a bombed maternity hospital in Mariupol on March 9. The woman and her baby later died, a surgeon who was treating her confirmed. The attack came despite Russia agreeing to a 12-hour pause in hostilities to allow refugees to evacuate.Hide Caption 81 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineDead bodies are placed into a mass grave on the outskirts of Mariupol on March 9. With overflowing morgues and repeated shelling, the city has been unable to hold proper burials.Hide Caption 82 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineCars drive past a destroyed Russian tank as civilians leave Irpin on March 9. A Ukrainian official said lines of vehicles stretched for miles as people tried to escape fighting in districts to the north and northwest of Kyiv.Hide Caption 83 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is displayed on a screen as he addresses British lawmakers via video on March 8."We will not give up and we will not lose. We will fight until the end at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost," he said in his comments translated by an interpreter. The House of Commons gave Zelensky a standing ovation at the end of his address.Hide Caption 84 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA firefighter works to extinguish flames after a chemical warehouse was reportedly hit by Russian shelling near Kalynivka, Ukraine, on March 8.Hide Caption 85 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineMembers of the Red Cross help people fleeing the Kyiv suburb of Irpin on March 7.Hide Caption 86 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineThe dead bodies of civilians killed while trying to flee are covered by sheets in Irpin on March 6. CNN determined they were killed in a Russian military strike.Hide Caption 87 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineCivilians seek protection in a basement bomb shelter in Kyiv on March 6.Hide Caption 88 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineLocal residents help clear the rubble of a home that was destroyed by a suspected Russian airstrike in Markhalivka, Ukraine, on March 5.Hide Caption 89 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineGeorge Keburia says goodbye to his wife and children as they board a train in Odesa on March 5. They were heading to Lviv.Hide Caption 90 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian officials say several people were injured in a Russian missile attack on Kyiv on Thursday, April 28, which occurred as the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres was finishing a visit to the Ukrainian capital.Hide Caption 91 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomes UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres before their meeting, in Kyiv, on April 28. Hide Caption 92 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA statue is covered in Lviv on March 5. Residents wrapped statues in protective sheets to try to safeguard historic monuments across the city.Hide Caption 93 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainians crowd under a destroyed bridge as they try to flee across the Irpin River on the outskirts of Kyiv on March 5.Hide Caption 94 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineMarina Yatsko runs behind her boyfriend, Fedor, as they arrive at the hospital with her 18-month-old son, Kirill, who was wounded by shelling in Mariupol on March 4. Medical workers frantically tried to save the boy's life, but he didn't survive.Hide Caption 95 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople remove personal belongings from a burning house after shelling in Irpin on March 4.Hide Caption 96 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineOksana and her son Dmytro stand over the open casket of her husband, Volodymyr Nezhenets, during his funeral in Kyiv on March 4. According to the Washington Post, he was a member of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces, which is comprised mostly of volunteers.Hide Caption 97 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople crowd on a platform as they try to board a westbound train in Kyiv on March 4.Hide Caption 98 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA bullet-ridden bus is seen after an ambush in Kyiv on March 4.Hide Caption 99 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople take shelter on the floor of a hospital during shelling in Mariupol on March 4.Hide Caption 100 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA member of the Ukrainian military gives instructions to civilians in Irpin on March 4. They were about to board an evacuation train headed to Kyiv.Hide Caption 101 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineSurveillance camera footage shows a flare landing at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine, during shelling on March 4. Ukrainian authorities said Russian forces have"occupied" the power plant.Hide Caption 102 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA Ukrainian child rests on a bed at a temporary refugee center in Záhony, Hungary, on March 4.Hide Caption 103 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA residential building destroyed by shelling is seen in Borodyanka, Ukraine, on March 3. Russian forces have shown a"willingness to hit civilian infrastructure on purpose," a senior US defense official told reporters.Hide Caption 104 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineLeos Leonid recovers at a hospital in Kyiv on March 3. The 64-year-old survived being crushed when an armored vehicle drove over his car. Video of the incident was widely shared on social media.Hide Caption 105 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA Ukrainian soldier carries a baby across a destroyed bridge on the outskirts of Kyiv on March 3.Hide Caption 106 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineResidents react in front of a burning building after shelling in Kharkiv on March 3.Hide Caption 107 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA Ukrainian soldier who says he was shot three times in the opening days of the invasion sits on a hospital bed in Kyiv on March 3.Hide Caption 108 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople form a human chain to transfer supplies into Kyiv on March 3.Hide Caption 109 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA cemetery worker digs graves for Ukrainian soldiers in Kyiv on March 3.Hide Caption 110 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA mother cares for her two infant sons in the underground shelter of a maternity hospital in Kyiv on March 3. She gave birth a day earlier, and she and her husband haven't yet decided on names for the twins.Hide Caption 111 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA member of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces sits with a weapon in Kyiv on March 2.Hide Caption 112 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineParamedics treat an elderly woman wounded by shelling before transferring her to a hospital in Mariupol on March 2.Hide Caption 113 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineResidents of Zhytomyr work in the remains of a residential building on March 2. The building was destroyed by shelling.Hide Caption 114 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA woman reads a story to children while they take shelter in a subway station in Kyiv on March 2.Hide Caption 115 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA member of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces inspects damage in the backyard of a house in Gorenka on March 2.Hide Caption 116 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA Ukrainian woman takes her children over the border in Siret, Romania, on March 2. Many Ukrainians are fleeing the country at a pace that could turn into"Europe's largest refugee crisis this century," the United Nations Refugee Agency said.Hide Caption 117 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineMilitia members set up anti-tank barricades in Kyiv on March 2.Hide Caption 118 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople wait at a train station in Kyiv on March 2.Hide Caption 119 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople shelter in a subway station in Kyiv on March 2.Hide Caption 120 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky poses for a picture in a Kyiv bunker after an exclusive interview with CNN and Reuters on March 1. Zelensky said that as long as Moscow's attacks on Ukrainian cities continued, little progress could be made in talks between the two nations."It's important to stop bombing people, and then we can move on and sit at the negotiation table," he said.Hide Caption 121 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineAn explosion is seen at a TV tower in Kyiv on March 1. Russian forces fired rockets near the tower and struck a Holocaust memorial site in Kyiv hours after warning of"high-precision" strikes on other facilities linked to Ukrainian security agencies.Hide Caption 122 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian soldiers attend Mass at an Orthodox monastery in Kyiv on March 1.Hide Caption 123 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineMedical workers show a mother her newborn after she gave birth at a maternity hospital in Mariupol on March 1. The hospital is now also used as a medical ward and bomb shelter.Hide Caption 124 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineAn administrative building is seen in Kharkiv after Russian shelling on March 1. Russian forces have scaled up their bombardment of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city.Hide Caption 125 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian emergency workers carry a body of a victim following shelling that hit the City Hall building in Kharkiv on March 1.Hide Caption 126 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA woman named Helen comforts her 8-year-old daughter, Polina, in the bomb shelter of a Kyiv children's hospital on March 1. The girl was at the hospital being treated for encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain.Hide Caption 127 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian refugees try to stay warm at the Medyka border crossing in Poland on March 1.Hide Caption 128 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineVolunteers in Kyiv sign up to join Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces on February 28.Hide Caption 129 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA member of the Territorial Defense Forces loads rifle magazines in Kyiv on February 28.Hide Caption 130 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineDelegations from Russia and Ukraine hold talks in Belarus on February 28. Both sides discussed a potential"ceasefire and the end of combat actions on the territory of Ukraine," Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhaylo Podolyak told reporters. Without going into detail, Podolyak said that both sides would return to their capitals for consultations over whether to implement a number of"decisions."Hide Caption 131 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA displaced Ukrainian cradles her child at a temporary shelter set up inside a gymnasium in Beregsurány, Hungary, on February 28.Hide Caption 132 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian forces order a man to the ground on February 28 as they increased security measures amid Russian attacks in Kyiv.Hide Caption 133 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineThe lifeless body of a 6-year-old girl, who according to the Associated Press was killed by Russian shelling in a residential area, lies on a medical cart at a hospital in Mariupol on February 27. The girl, whose name was not immediately known, was rushed to the hospital but could not be saved.Hide Caption 134 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineSmoke billows over the Ukrainian city of Vasylkiv, just outside Kyiv on February 27. A fire at an oil storage area was seen raging at the Vasylkiv Air Base.Hide Caption 135 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople wait on a platform inside the railway station in Lviv on February 27. Thousands of people at Lviv's main train station attempted to board trains that would take them out of Ukraine.Hide Caption 136 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA Russian armored vehicle burns after fighting in Kharkiv on February 27. Street fighting broke out as Russian troops entered Ukraine's second-largest city, and residents were urged to stay in shelters and not travel.Hide Caption 137 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineLocal residents prepare Molotov cocktails in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, on February 27.Hide Caption 138 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineCars line up on the road outside Mostyska, Ukraine, as people attempt to flee to Poland on February 27.Hide Caption 139 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian troops in Kyiv escort a prisoner February 27 who they suspected of being a Russian agent.Hide Caption 140 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian forces patrol mostly empty streets in Kyiv on February 27. Mayor Vitali Klitschko extended a citywide curfew.Hide Caption 141 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian service members take position at the Vasylkiv Air Base near Kyiv on February 27.Hide Caption 142 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA woman sleeps on chairs February 27 in the underground parking lot of a Kyiv hotel that has been turned into a bomb shelter.Hide Caption 143 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineAn apartment building in Kyiv is seen after it was damaged by shelling on February 26. The outer walls of several apartment units appeared to be blown out entirely, with the interiors blackened and debris hanging loose. Hide Caption 144 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople in Kyiv take cover as an air-raid siren sounds February 26 near an apartment building that was damaged by shelling.Hide Caption 145 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA police vehicle patrols the streets of Kyiv on February 26.Hide Caption 146 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineFollowing a national directive to help complicate the invading Russian Army's attempts to navigate, a road worker removes signs near Pisarivka, Ukraine, on February 26.Hide Caption 147 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA man kneels in front of a Russian tank in Bakhmach, Ukraine, on February 26 as Ukrainian citizens attempted to stop the tank from moving forward. The dramatic scene was captured on video, and CNN confirmed its authenticity. The moment drew comparisons to the iconic "Tank Man" of Tiananmen Square.Hide Caption 148 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople in Kyiv board a train heading to the west of the country on February 26. Kelly Clements, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, told CNN that more than 120,000 people had left Ukraine while 850,000 were internally displaced.Hide Caption 149 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian service members look for and collect unexploded shells after fighting in Kyiv on February 26.Hide Caption 150 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineSmoke and flames are seen near Kyiv on February 26. Explosions were seen and heard in parts of the capital as Ukrainians battled to hold back advancing Russian troops.Hide Caption 151 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineThe body of a Russian soldier lies next to a Russian vehicle outside Kharkiv on February 25.Hide Caption 152 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineNewly married couple Yaryna Arieva and Sviatoslav Fursin pose for photo in Kyiv on February 25 after they joined the Territorial Defense Forces.Hide Caption 153 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineMembers of the Ukrainian National Guard take positions in central Kyiv on February 25.Hide Caption 154 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople walk past a residential building in Kyiv that was hit in an alleged Russian airstrike on February 25.Hide Caption 155 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineThe body of a school employee, who according to locals was killed in recent shelling, lies in the separatist-controlled town of Horlivka in Ukraine's Donetsk region on February 25.Hide Caption 156 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineKyiv residents take shelter in an underground parking garage on February 25.Hide Caption 157 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineThe body of a rocket remains in an apartment after shelling on the northern outskirts of Kharkiv on February 24.Hide Caption 158 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA wounded woman stands outside a hospital after an attack on the eastern Ukrainian town of Chuhuiv, outside of Kharkiv, on February 24.Hide Caption 159 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA boy plays with his tablet in a public basement used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv on February 24.Hide Caption 160 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineSviatoslav Fursin, left, and Yaryna Arieva kneel during their wedding ceremony at the St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv on February 24. They had planned on getting married in May, but they rushed to tie the knot due to the attacks by Russian forces."We maybe can die, and we just wanted to be together before all of that," Arieva said.Hide Caption 161 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian service members sit atop armored vehicles driving in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region on February 24.Hide Caption 162 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople in Kyiv try to board a bus to travel west toward Poland on February 24.Hide Caption 163 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUS President Joe Biden arrives in the East Room of the White House to address the Russian invasion on February 24."Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences," Biden said, laying out a set of measures that will"impose severe cost on the Russian economy, both immediately and over time."Hide Caption 164 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineSmoke rises from a military airport in Chuhuiv on February 24. Airports were also hit in Boryspil, Kharkiv, Ozerne, Kulbakino, Kramatorsk and Chornobaivka.Hide Caption 165 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople seek shelter inside a subway station in Kharkiv on February 24.Hide Caption 166 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineRussian military vehicles are seen at the Chernobyl power plant near Pripyat, Ukraine, on February 24. Russian forces seized control of the the plant, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster.Hide Caption 167 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople wait after boarding a bus to leave Kyiv on February 24.Hide Caption 168 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian President Zelensky holds an emergency meeting in Kyiv on February 24. In a video address, Zelensky announced that he was introducing martial law. He urged people to remain calm.Hide Caption 169 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePolice officers inspect the remains of a missile that landed in Kyiv on February 24.Hide Caption 170 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA staff member of a Kyiv hotel talks on the phone on February 24.Hide Caption 171 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineSmoke rises from an air defense base after an apparent Russian strike in Mariupol on February 24. A CNN team in Mariupol reported hearing a barrage of artillery.Hide Caption 172 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople wait in line to buy train tickets at the central station in Kyiv on February 24.Hide Caption 173 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA long line of cars is seen exiting Kyiv on February 24. Heavy traffic appeared to be heading west, away from where explosions were heard early in the morning.Hide Caption 174 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA photo provided by the Ukrainian President's office appears to show an explosion in Kyiv early on February 24.Hide Caption 175 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople in Moscow watch a televised address by Russian President Vladimir Putin as he announces a military operation in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine on February 24."Whoever tries to interfere with us, and even more so to create threats to our country, to our people, should know that Russia's response will be immediate and will lead you to such consequences as you have never experienced in your history," he said.Hide Caption 176 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineAn emergency meeting of the UN Security Council is held in New York to discuss the crisis on February 23. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop"attacking Ukraine" and to give peace a chance.Hide Caption 177 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA convoy of Russian military vehicles is seen February 23 in the Rostov region of Russia, which runs along Ukraine's eastern border.Hide Caption 178 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian soldiers talk in a shelter at the front line near Svitlodarsk, Ukraine, on February 23.Hide Caption 179 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineSmoke rises from a damaged power plant in Shchastya that Ukrainian authorities say was hit by shelling on February 22.Hide Caption 180 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA damaged house is worked on after shelling near the Ukrainian front-line city of Novoluhanske on February 22.Hide Caption 181 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineMourners gather at a church in Kyiv on February 22 for the funeral of Ukrainian Army Capt. Anton Sydorov. The Ukrainian military said he was killed by a shrapnel wound on February 19 after several rounds of artillery fire were directed at Ukrainian positions near Myronivske.Hide Caption 182 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA sign displays conversion rates at a currency exchange kiosk in Kyiv on February 22. Global markets tumbled the day after Putin ordered troops into parts of eastern Ukraine.Hide Caption 183 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineRussian howitzers are loaded onto train cars near Taganrog, Russia, on February 22.Hide Caption 184 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople who left a separatist-held region in eastern Ukraine watch an address by Putin from their hotel room in Taganrog, Russia, on February 21. Putin blasted Kyiv's growing security ties with the West, and in lengthy remarks about the history of the USSR and the formation of the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic, he appeared to cast doubt on Ukraine's right to self-determination.Hide Caption 185 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePutin signs decrees recognizing the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic in a ceremony in Moscow on February 21. Earlier in the day, the heads of the self-proclaimed pro-Russian republics requested the Kremlin leader recognize their independence and sovereignty. Members of Putin's Security Council supported the initiative in a meeting earlier in the day.Hide Caption 186 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineProtesters demanding economic sanctions against Russia stand outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kyiv on February 21. Only a small number of protesters showed up to demonstrate.Hide Caption 187 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineActivists hold a performance in front of the Russian embassy in Kyiv on February 21 in support of prisoners who were arrested in Crimea. They say the red doors are a symbol of the doors that were kicked in to search and arrest Crimean Tatars, a Muslim ethnic minority.Hide Caption 188 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian servicemen shop in the front-line town of Avdiivka, Ukraine, on February 21.Hide Caption 189 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople lay flowers at the Motherland Monument in Kyiv on February 21.Hide Caption 190 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA couple arrives at the city council to get married in Odesa on February 20. As Ukrainian authorities reported further ceasefire violations and top Western officials warned about an impending conflict, life went on in other parts of the country.Hide Caption 191 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskiy, left, visits soldiers at a front-line position in Novoluhanske on February 19. Minutes after he left, the position came under fire. No one was injured.Hide Caption 192 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA woman rests in a car near a border checkpoint in Avilo-Uspenka, Russia, on February 19.Hide Caption 193 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA Ukrainian service member walks by a building on February 19 that was hit by mortar fire in the front-line village of Krymske, Ukraine.Hide Caption 194 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineFighter jets fly over Belarus during a joint military exercise the country held with Russia on February 19.Hide Caption 195 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian soldiers stand guard at a military command center in Novoluhanske on February 19.Hide Caption 196 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePeople sit on a bus in Donetsk on February 18 after they were ordered to evacuate to Russia by pro-Russian separatists.Hide Caption 197 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineThe remains of a military vehicle are seen in a parking lot outside a government building following an explosion in Donetsk on February 18. Ukrainian and US officials said the vehicle explosion was a staged attack designed to stoke tensions in eastern Ukraine.Hide Caption 198 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA memorial service and candlelight vigil is held at the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv on February 18. They honored those who died in 2014 while protesting against the government of President Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russian leader who later fled the country.Hide Caption 199 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA kindergarten that officials say was damaged by shelling is seen in Stanytsia Luhanska, Ukraine, on February 17. No lives were lost, but it was a stark reminder of the stakes for people living near the front lines that separate Ukrainian government forces from Russian-backed separatists.Hide Caption 200 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineChildren play on old Soviet tanks in front of the Motherland Monument in Kyiv on February 16.Hide Caption 201 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineAmbassadors of European countries lay roses at the Wall of Remembrance in Kyiv on February 16. The wall contains the names and photographs of military members who have died since the conflict with Russian-backed separatists began in 2014.Hide Caption 202 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUS troops walk on the tarmac at the Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport in southeastern Poland on February 16. US paratroopers landed in Poland as part of a deployment of several thousand sent to bolster NATO's eastern flank in response to tensions with Russia.Hide Caption 203 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA 200-meter-long Ukrainian flag is unfolded at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv on February 16 to mark a"Day of Unity," an impromptu celebration declared by President Volodymyr Zelensky.Hide Caption 204 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineTravelers wait in line to check in to their departing flights February 15 at the Boryspil International Airport outside Kyiv. US President Joe Biden urged Americans in Ukraine to leave the country, warning that"things could go crazy quickly" in the region.Hide Caption 205 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA location of Oschadbank, a state-owned bank, is seen in Kyiv on February 15. The websites of Oschadbank and PrivatBank, the country's two largest banks, were hit by cyberattacks that day, as were the websites of Ukraine's defense ministry and army, according to Ukrainian government agencies.Hide Caption 206 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineA woman and child walk underneath a military monument in Senkivka, Ukraine, on February 14. It's on the outskirts of the Three Sisters border crossing between Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.Hide Caption 207 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian service members talk at a front-line position in eastern Ukraine on February 14. Hide Caption 208 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineMembers of Ukraine's National Guard look out a window as they ride a bus through the capital of Kyiv on February 14.Hide Caption 209 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineSatellite images taken on February 13 by Maxar Technologies revealed that dozens of helicopters had appeared at a previously vacant airbase in Russian-occupied Crimea.Hide Caption 210 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkrainePro-Russian separatists observe the movement of Ukrainian troops from trenches in Ukraine's Donbas area on February 11.Hide Caption 211 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian service members unpack Javelin anti-tank missiles that were delivered to Kyiv on February 10 as part of a US military support package for Ukraine.Hide Caption 212 of 213 Photos: Russia invades UkraineUkrainian service members walk on an armored fighting vehicle during a training exercise in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region on February 10.Hide Caption 213 of 213Living 'under terror' Many others think that trying to leave Kherson has become too dangerous. Elena says she and her children set out on May 12. Twice they got lost. Now, she says,"We want to wait, it's scary to drive through the battle zone." But she is desperate to leave."I'm nervous here. People with machine guns are on the streets, explosions are heard the whole day. Citizens here are under terror. We cannot speak to each other." She also said there was no work -- those people who had not fled had no money. There were few doctors and a chronic shortage of medicines. "Hospitals have run out of drip solutions. Now my father needs an operation, but the hospitals do not have the necessary medicines." Mariya also said there was an acute shortage of medicine. "Volunteers started trying to deliver drugs to Kherson. One shipment was worth $7,000 -- and the Russians simply stole this cargo!" CNN was unable to confirm that incident but heard other accounts of Russian troops pilfering from aid convoys. Ruslan said he had spent years improving his property."We understood that if we leave, then most likely there will be nothing left." His mother had refused to leave."It's somehow easier together," he said. But he said he went out as little as possible,"because they check documents, check phones. If they find something, you can get penned up in the basements. And they have some lists." Civilians -- plus two anxious meerkats -- endure searches and shelling as they flee Russia-occupied KhersonBut, he said that"just sitting at home all the time, waiting, emotionally, you start to go a little crazy, being in some kind of box." Inside Kherson there is little resistance but growing indications of dissent, with slogans spraypainted on walls and roads telling the Russians to leave in strong language. Posters have sprung up warning Russian troops they will have their throats slit at night. "Kherson is Ukraine" is another popular slogan, and on Friday the Ukrainian flag was briefly hoisted at the city's railway station. But the Russian-appointed local government is gradually tightening its hold on all aspects of life. Ukrainian goods are disappearing from stores; checkpoints abound. The new rulers talk about federation with Crimea, introducing the ruble and allowing people to have Russian passports. Elena feels a sense of desperation, trapped in Kherson against her will, with no school for her children. "I really want to be free!" she told CNN."To any city but controlled by Ukraine! Even if the Russians shell it. I'm suffocating here." Julia Presniakova contributed to this report.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ukraine drives Russians out of Kharkiv, plants flag on border with Russia, officials sayUkrainian forces have driven Russia out of the Kharkiv region and back across the Russian border, officials said.
Read more »
US Accuses Russia of Weaponizing Food in Ukraine WarU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia on Thursday of weaponizing food and holding grain for millions of people around the world hostage to help accomplish what its invasion of Ukraine has not — “to break the spirit of the Ukrainian people.” He told a U.N. Security Council meeting called by the United States that the war has halted…
Read more »
US accuses Russia of weaponizing food in Ukraine warU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a U.N. Security Council meeting on Thursday that the war has halted maritime trade in large areas of the Black Sea and made the region unsafe for navigation.
Read more »
US accuses Russia of weaponizing food in Ukraine warU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia on Thursday of weaponizing food and holding grain for millions of people around the world hostage to help accomplish what its invasion of Ukraine has not -- “to break the spirit of the Ukrainian people.” Blinken said the meeting, which he chaired, was taking place “at a moment of unprecedented global hunger” fueled by climate change and COVID-19 “and made even worse by conflict.” Since Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, he said, its naval operations have sought to control access to the northwestern Black Sea and the Sea of Azov and to block Ukrainian ports which the United States assesses to be “a deliberate effort” to block safe passage and shut down shipping.
Read more »
Analysis | Turkey’s awkward role in the Russia-Ukraine warAnalysis: It was supposed to be quite straightforward. For weeks, Finland and Sweden telegraphed their decision to abandon decades of quasi-neutrality and join the NATO military alliance. But then Turkey entered the stage.
Read more »