Kherson’s fragile calm: residents return to devastated homes while fearing imminent escalation

This week, dozens of residents were granted access to their homes and belongings in Kherson’s “red zone,” a territory so heavily targeted by drones and artillery that it had become uninhabitable.

“Some are venturing into places no one has dared to enter for years, filming areas where simply being present has meant—and will again mean—almost certain death,” said Denisa Bohackova, a Czech volunteer residing in Kherson.

Dima described scenes of “girls, boys, parents, grandmothers” walking the streets of the red zone, carrying suitcases and bags as they returned to their apartments to salvage what they could.

Some who returned found buildings reduced to charred, empty shells; others discovered their homes had been looted. “The scale of destruction in some places is breathtaking,” Bohackova said.

Others returned for reasons beyond material loss. Angela Dobrovolska’s husband, Serhiy, was killed two years ago by a grenade dropped from a Russian piloted drone—an incident that epitomized the “human safari” attacks Kherson has become known for.

On Thursday, Angela traveled from Kyiv to Kherson to visit her husband’s grave for the first time in months. “They say everyone has rushed to Kherson,” she said. “And I’ll be going to the cemetery to my husband.”

Since Russia’s full‑scale invasion of Ukraine began, Kherson’s population has plummeted from over 250,000 to roughly 65,000. The conflict will mark its sixth year in February.

Civilian life never truly ceased, Bohackova noted, but it continued under battlefield conditions, with schools, theaters, kindergartens, and hospitals relocated underground.

“An ordinary civilian from Kherson has experienced more of this war than many soldiers,” Bohackova observed.

Olga, raising two children, described regular blackouts, mines dropped by drones and hidden among fallen leaves, drone fragments ricocheting through the air, and a city that typically shuts down by the afternoon.

Since a temporary silence fell on the city, Olga has been able to live a normal life. She drove to a neighboring town and took a bus to another district to visit her grandmother with her son. “Shops were full, as were the cafés,” she said. After years of empty streets, “there was even a small traffic jam,” she smiled.

But time is running out. The evacuation of nearby Oleshky is scheduled to finish by Sunday, after which the ceasefire will end. “Starting Monday, things could turn truly chaotic,” Olga warned.

“We know the strikes will resume, and that they will increase,” Dima said, as he and his wife prepared to visit their flat in the red zone for the first time in several months.

These few days showed us how it could be if it all finally ended.

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