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In War-Torn Mykolaiv, Ukrainians Search for Informers


MYKOLAIV, Ukraine – The city of Mykolaiv emerged on Monday after a 54-hour lockdown in which officers went door-to-door in search of collaborators who officials say are responsible for helping the force. Russian forces identify targets for missiles that hit the city every day.

The governor of the Mykolaiv region, Vitaliy Kim, declared the dramatic operation – locking down the city, preventing residents from entering and leaving – a success. Five people were arrested and several weapons and communications equipment confiscated, he said, though he did not provide details.

“I apologize for the discomfort over the weekend, but it was worth it,” Kim said in a video message Monday morning.

He added, “No Russian speakers were shot.”

According to Mr. Kim, the need to root collaborators has been particularly acute in Mykolaiv. Few places in Ukraine have experienced this kind of sustained Russian fire like this city on the south coast. Since the war began nearly five and a half months ago, there have been only twenty days without violence.

According to the city’s mayor, Oleksandr Senkevych, the attacks destroyed about 1,200 homes and apartment buildings. He said that since the war began, 132 residents have been killed and more than 619 injured in Russian attacks.

Amidst the devastation, some residents said checking in on collaborators provided a certain amount of comfort, despite the inconvenience.

“It calmed us down a bit,” said Valentina Hontarenko, 74, at a kiosk selling kvas, a popular drink made from fermented bread. “They asked about our connection with Russia. We don’t have any.”

During the lockdown, officers went door-to-door and blocked people on the streets, checking their documents and looking through their phones for evidence that they might be coordinating with the force. Russia. Video of the operation released by local authorities shows officers checking computers and texting on phones.

In a screenshot of a cell phone text exchange – the authenticity of which cannot be confirmed – someone with the screen name Mykolaiv People’s Republic describes an area of ​​town where Full military equipment and soldiers. Answer: “Send coordinates.”

Mykolaiv is a Russian-speaking city with a population of almost 500,000 before the war. Since imperial Russia, it has been an important shipbuilding center and home to top Soviet universities specializing in that trade. This is the city where the cruiser Moskva, the famous flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet. The sinking of the ship by Ukrainian forces in April gave a great morale boost to the Ukrainian people and confused the Kremlin.

The city borders the Kherson region, which is largely occupied by Russian forces. That area is now the site of daily skirmishes as Ukrainian forces launch a counter-offensive to push the Russians east across the Dnipro River. Part of Ukraine’s defenses run through the Mykolaiv region, and Ukrainian troops often arrive in the city on rotation or to split the front lines.

Although most Russian artillery could not reach Mykolaiv, Russian forces attacked it with long-range missiles.

For weeks, Mr. Kim has warned of threats posed by collaborators, sympathetic citizens of Russia, who support their military by providing information and locations. of Ukraine. But he has revealed some details and it is not clear how dangerous the matter is. Prior to the lockdown this weekend, only a handful of people had been arrested on suspicion of aiding the enemy.

Last month, the immensely popular Kim posted a message to his approximately 677,000 followers on Telegram offering a $100 bounty for any information leading to the arrest of a collaborator.

“Help save Mykolaiv from missile attacks,” he wrote.

The closure over the weekend is part of that effort. It started at 11 p.m. Friday night, and in the hours before it went into effect, massive traffic swarms formed at the city’s west exit as people tried to flee. Even without the daily attacks, life in Mykolaiv is arduous. Few restaurants and shops remained open and for weeks there was only salt water from the tap. Fresh water is brought into the city every day.

Hanna Zamazeeva, chair of the Mykolaiv regional council, said that the activity of identifying collaborators corresponded to a relatively quiet weekend for the city, although she could not say whether the lockdown was the cause. multiply or not.

“The intensity of shelling on residential areas in the city has decreased significantly compared to previous days,” she said in a message on Telegram.

Residents of Mykolaiv describe the law enforcement inspections as unscrupulous, although they may baffle some civil libertarians in Western countries.

“It’s not very comfortable,” said a 35-year-old woman named Yelena, who was standing with her husband to collect water from a lorry. “They came and checked everything – passports, phones. They saw who lived where.”

She added: “What’s to be afraid of if everything is in order?”

Although people complained about being confined to their homes for an entire weekend, a few raised any objections and most welcomed the effort. Dmitry Boychenko, the driver of a truck that daily transfers water to Mykolaiv from nearby Odesa, said locking the door allowed him to reconnect with neighbors. Residents are allowed out of their homes, but asked to stay in their yards, promoting impromptu gatherings outdoors.

“There are people here who are giving the position of our people,” Mr. Boychenko said. “It may be sad, but we have traitors to our homeland living here.”



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