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How Russians searched the homes of Kherson residents during the occupation of the city. #UkraineWorldTestimony
Viktoriia Kirilova, who survived the 8-month occupation of Kherson, described how Russians searched the homes of locals and took people for interrogation. 1/12
Viktoriia Kirilova, who survived the 8-month occupation of Kherson, described how Russians searched the homes of locals and took people for interrogation. 1/12
She said that home searches could be divided into two types:
1️⃣ From 9 to 12 armed officers would enter a home. Sometimes they would say they were from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) because they were driving cars with 🇺🇦 license plates stolen from local residents. 2/12
1️⃣ From 9 to 12 armed officers would enter a home. Sometimes they would say they were from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) because they were driving cars with 🇺🇦 license plates stolen from local residents. 2/12
Of course, they couldn't have been from the SBU, because the occupiers would have imprisoned or shot any SBU personnel.
If you were lucky, the hours-long interrogation would take place at your home, says Kirilova. The occupiers would pressure people to collaborate with them. 3/12
If you were lucky, the hours-long interrogation would take place at your home, says Kirilova. The occupiers would pressure people to collaborate with them. 3/12
If you were unlucky, you were taken out with a bag over your head and disappeared. Despite the joy of being liberated on the one hand, many Khersonians still have no idea where their relatives and friends are or whether they are even alive. 4/12
These raids would usually happen at 5-6 am to catch people by surprise. They seized phones, computers, and absolutely everything that they might find of interest. 5/12
2️⃣ The 2nd type of searches were conducted by 🇷🇺's FSB or the police of the so-called DPR. They would be carried out by 2-3 people in civilian clothes with weapons. They were very aggressive and brazen.
Their goal was to extract information about people they couldn't find. 6/12
Their goal was to extract information about people they couldn't find. 6/12
Their visits could happen many times and be violent.
If the person they were looking for had managed to leave Kherson, they searched their home to the last detail and turned everything upside down. After that, the occupiers could settle in the apartment themselves. 7/12
If the person they were looking for had managed to leave Kherson, they searched their home to the last detail and turned everything upside down. After that, the occupiers could settle in the apartment themselves. 7/12
Viktoriia said that one of her most important daily tasks was wiping her phone and computer.
"Could I have ever imagined that I would use spyware, hide absolutely all data, set complex passwords everywhere, and have secret chats? 8/12
"Could I have ever imagined that I would use spyware, hide absolutely all data, set complex passwords everywhere, and have secret chats? 8/12
I didn't know that my phone could do so many things. I didn't know that my memory could remember so many passwords. I didn't know that there were so many things to cheat with," Viktoriia explains. 9/12
The 🇷🇺 invaders came to Viktoriia's home repeatedly & took her for interrogation. They beat her, & she was left with scars both on her body and within.
"When the occupiers started scaring me that they would take me to the basement, my brain thought of terrible things: 10/12
"When the occupiers started scaring me that they would take me to the basement, my brain thought of terrible things: 10/12
'Well, rape - I can cope with that. Torture - depending on the kind of torture, you start to think about which method is the most painful. Murder - I want to live a little longer." These were the thoughts of a free person in the 21st century in an indepen. state," she says. 11/12
Unfortunately, this remains the everyday reality for Ukrainians in the regions still occupied by Russia. 12/12
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