Tears, Joy On The Streets As Ukrainian Troops Push Toward Kherson

A woman weeps, moments before stepping forward and blessing a Ukrainian soldier. 

This and other photos in this gallery show the scenes in Snihurivka on the evening of November 10 as advance forces of the Ukrainian military recaptured the town in the southern Mykolayiv region.

A soldier holds a weathered Ukrainian flag as the sun begins to set on the freshly recaptured town.

Snihurivka had been occupied by Russian forces since March. 

Battle damage in the newly retaken town.

Snihurivka lies just 55 kilometers north of Kherson, the southern port city seen as the current focal point of the fighting in southern Ukraine. 

A man cries as he tells Ukrainian soldiers, "Don't leave us again, I'm begging you."

These photos were taken by veteran Ukrainian conflict photojournalist Andriy Dubchak as he accompanied Ukrainian forces advancing south toward Kherson. 

Destroyed vehicles sit on a road near Snihurivka. 

A highly public announcement of Russia's pullout from most of Kherson left some Ukrainian commanders suspicious of a possible trap, but the November 11 destruction of the crucial main bridge of the city and the relatively easy recapture of villages north of Kherson have revived hopes of an imminent Ukrainian takeover. 

A soldier inspects a damaged anti-tank mine in Snihurivka. 

Exploded bridges and military positions that these Ukrainian forces discovered as they advanced make it clear the Russian forces left the area "systematically," Dubchak said. 

Locals wave as journalists enter the town along with Ukrainian troops. 

Dubchak told RFE/RL on the evening of November 10 that there was still some fighting taking place in the town, which before the February invasion had a population of around 12,000 people. 

Ukrainian troops examine a destroyed tank.

Dubchak says he asked locals whether possible war crimes took place in Snihurivka during its occupation by Russian forces but says, "For now, there is no information." 

 

Smoke rises from fighting near Snihurivka. 

Ukrainian forces explore Snihurivka, which still had some remnants of Russian forces on November 10. 

A local man looks over the aftermath of a battle in Snihurivka. 

Ukrainian forces on a street in Snihurivka

"People offered warm food to the military" as soldiers entered the town, Dubchak said. "I saw soldiers crying, too."