Three Years Under Fire in Ukraine: Kherson Residents on the Horrors of War and Trump's Betrayal

“It is clear Trump is a Russian puppet,” one woman living on the frontline tells Zarina Zabrisky

Aerial bomb hit in Kherson, 19 February 2025. Photo: Zarina Zabrisky

On the third anniversary of the Russian full-scale invasion, a "human safari" is happening in the embattled city of Kherson, in south Ukraine. This latest Russian war crime—remote drone pilots using FPV drones to hunt civilians—is slightly less intense, due to winter weather. Fog and wind hamper FPV drone flights, but bring no relief. Ukrainian partisans on the Russian-occupied left bank of the Dnipro River locate Russian drone operator "nests", allowing Ukrainian artillery and the celebrated Ukrainian drone unit to eliminate them.

Russian troop morale is low due to poor living conditions—no electricity, no water—and the so-called "one-way ticket" assaults on the Dnipro islands. Reports indicate the Dnipro is littered with the bodies of Russian soldiers. Explosives often malfunction due to the poor quality of handmade grenades. Fewer civilians remain in Kherson as evacuations increase. Yet, the risks remain high. Debris from destroyed drones falls on civilians. Drones continue dropping explosives, anti-personnel mines, and incendiary devices, igniting fires across the city.

To compensate for the slight decrease in drone strikes, the Russians have escalated artillery and KAB guided bomb attacks. Alyona Malyarenko, a local artist and writer, shared, “At quarter to midnight on February 19, Kherson shuddered from explosions. We were asleep when three Russian aerial bombs fell. It was terrifying. That’s why speaking with Russians is so difficult. They kill civilians and still claim they only hit military targets.”

One of the KAB guided bombs struck a ten-story building, destroying 15 apartments, and injuring six civilians. Rescuers pulled 13-year-old twins from the debris, both injured and in shock. Their mother and a neighbor were found dead nearly 24 hours later.

To add insult to injury, there is a dramatic shift in US strategy. The Kremlin is claiming the city back as part of the Kherson region annexed in September 2022, along with other territories.

Locals have brought flowers to site in central Kherson, ever since a woman was killed there by an artillery shell in November 2024. Photo: Zarina Zabrisky

Some Khersonians attributed the sudden change to the mental state of the new President. Anastasiya, 55, a wife of a Kherson partisan held in a Russian prison, on the way to taking her grandchild to a chess class in a bomb shelter, said, “I can’t believe Trump could be so insane.” Anatoly, a taxi driver in his late 50s, hiding his cab, about to bike home for the fear of drone attacks, noted, “The guy is senile—and crazy”.

The majority, though, is convinced of a much more nefarious reason for the change in US policy. Olena, 39, an English instructor, teaching online as all schools are closed in Kherson, said, “It is clear Trump is a Russian puppet.” Lawyers working in the office on a block demolished by bombs and artillery agreed that Trump’s behavior could only be explained by his dependence on Putin. Mila, 43, a fitness instructor who had to move her studio as the premises were turned into a torture chamber by Russians during the occupation, said, “Trump is a political prostitute. We are disgusted”.

Angela, whose husband was killed by a Russian drone in the summer of 2024, said, “This dramatic change is unbearable. We are being bullied, in a manner most boorish, and forced to give away [our minerals] in the way most insulting. My husband always hoped that spring would bring victory, and I kept hoping this spring would be it”.

Sasha, a coffee shop owner whose business miraculously survived when an aerial bomb hit her block, said, “I’m not a Zelensky fan but we elected him. He’s our President. We decide if, when, and how we re-elect him”.

Ukrainian soldiers on the Kherson front said that their unit, resisting Russian attempts to seize the Dnipro islands, was outraged but had no choice but to keep fighting.

Aerial bomb hit in Kherson, 19 February 2025. Photo: Zarina Zabrisky