The Kremlin insists that Kherson remains part of Russia

A CNN crew who visited the newly liberated town of Snehorivka in southern Ukraine on Friday experienced the residents’ euphoria at liberation from Russian occupation.

The CNN team described the city’s festive atmosphere, with residents greeting each other with hugs in the streets.

“As you drive into town here, everybody’s waving, everybody’s happy,” says CNN’s Nick Robertson.

But the residents have “terrifying stories” to tell about how they were treated by the Russians, especially in recent days.

Snihurivka, in the Mykolaiv region of Ukraine, is located on one of the main roads to the city of Kherson, in the neighboring Kherson region. On Thursday morning, it was confirmed that he had been released by the Ukrainian forces.

A large crowd gathered in the central square. Some residents covered themselves with Ukrainian flags. Others burst into tears remembering the plight of the Russian occupation.

A month ago, a person was shot for raising the Ukrainian flag, teens Nick Robertson told CNN reporter.

“People’s situation here is really difficult: there’s no electricity, no gas,” Robertson said.

Reports of looting and torture: Residents described widespread looting by Russian forces, and a CNN team witnessed a local bank being looted.

“What has happened in this town in the last few days is that the Russians knew they were going to withdraw, and there was widespread looting, and cars were looted, and we went to the bank here, and it was completely looted,” Robertson said.

“The police station here, we were told, was used as a torture base,” he added.

A 15-year-old girl told Robertson that in the last few days of the Russian presence in the area, she had been taken away, her head covered and spent days fearing she would be raped. It was reported that she was released yesterday.

“This is a city that is just beginning to absorb the idea of ​​liberation, what it means to be free, and what it means to not have Russian rule here,” he added.