{"id":17261,"date":"2026-10-15T16:22:38","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T14:22:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.standwithukraineeurope.com\/?p=17261"},"modified":"2026-10-16T13:20:43","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T11:20:43","slug":"this-winter-kherson-will-be-cold-do-not-leave-us-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.standwithukraineeurope.com\/en\/this-winter-kherson-will-be-cold-do-not-leave-us-alone\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThis Winter, Kherson Will Be Cold. Do Not Leave Us Alone.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

An opinion column by Dmytro Domanskyy, Director General of Kherson Municipal Hospital, and Oleksandr Kniha, Director of the Kherson Theatre, co-signed by several members of civil society.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Published in Ouest-France on 15 October 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n

We are a maternity doctor, a teacher, a firefighter, a hairdresser, a theatre director, and volunteers. We live in Kherson, on the banks of the Dnipro. A city on an estuary, built around its shipyards, much like Nantes or Saint-Nazaire, with which we have partnerships. And for almost four years now, we have been living under fire.<\/p>\n

Kherson was liberated in November 2022. But Russian forces only retreated to the other side of the river, so close that we can see the opposite bank from our windows. Since then, the city has remained within range of their weapons. We have learned to count the seconds between the firing of a shell and its impact, and to distinguish the sound of a drone from that of a glide bomb. Russian drones do not just target buildings: they hunt down pedestrians, cyclists, and buses. Here, we call it the \u201chuman safari.\u201d A United Nations commission of inquiry has described these attacks as a crime against humanity.<\/p>\n

Yet we remain, and we continue to work. At the maternity hospital, babies are still being born, sometimes in basements. Firefighters respond to emergencies knowing that a second strike may target the rescue teams. Teachers hold classes online or in shelters. Shopkeepers and hairdressers keep their businesses open. Performances still take place at the theatre. And volunteers organise respite trips for children, giving them a few days when they can sleep without being startled awake and simply be children again.<\/p>\n

At the end of August, two Russian strikes completed the destruction of the district heating plant, the city’s main source of heat. Tens of thousands of us now face the prospect of spending the winter without heating, with electricity available only intermittently, at best. Regional authorities have urged residents to leave. Think of elderly people alone in freezing apartments, or families with newborn babies. What awaits us is no longer just war, but also the cold.<\/p>\n

On the other side of the river, the situation is even worse. Oleshky, where some of us were born, had 24,000 inhabitants before the invasion. Around 2,000 remain, mostly elderly people or those who can no longer walk. Deprived of electricity and running water since the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in 2023, the town has received no food supplies since the end of May, according to Ukrainian authorities. Some residents are attempting to escape on foot, crossing minefields.<\/p>\n

Many families in Kherson are also considering leaving. But it is easier to say \u201cevacuate\u201d than to make evacuation possible. Where will they live? How will they pay the rent? Which school will their children attend? Where will they find work? Without answers to these questions, many remain where danger is part of everyday life.<\/p>\n

They are not asking to leave their country. They are asking for the chance to find safety just a few dozen kilometres away, beyond the reach of shellfire, in a Ukrainian city where their children can return to school and their parents can find work again. What they lack is a roof over their heads so they can start over. Before winter comes.<\/p>\n

Since the beginning of the war, Nantes and Saint-Nazaire, our city’s partners, and the Brittany Region, a partner of our region, have stood by our side. From Brest to Nantes, and throughout France, people know what it costs a city to endure war, and how much solidarity is needed to recover from it.<\/p>\n

This winter, we need you. Help us provide the families of Kherson with a roof over their heads, warmth, and safety, far from the shellfire, so they can begin to live again.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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To show your support for Ukrainians, you can contribute to Ouest-France Solidarit\u00e9\u2019s initiatives<\/a> or donate directly through our NGO<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An opinion column by Dmytro Domanskyy, Director General of Kherson Municipal Hospital, and Oleksandr Kniha, Director of the Kherson Theatre, co-signed by several members of civil society. Published in Ouest-France […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5440,"featured_media":17247,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actualites-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cThis Winter, Kherson Will Be Cold. 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