Enerhodar: how the city lives under Russian occupation

In this next issue of the renewed program «Free our Relatives,» we talk about life in the occupied Enerhodar and how the residents defend their city. Now, we are not only talking about the people who were hostages in Russia or in the temporarily occupied territories before February 24. Now we are talking about the cities that are currently being held hostage in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

Enerhodar is a city in the Zaporizhian region, where more than 50,000 people live. Enerhodar has the most powerful nuclear power plant in Europe. The city has been under Russian occupation for a month now. During this time, local residents have repeatedly shown courage and heroism in defending the Ukrainian Enerhodar. The first attempts of Russian troops were unsuccessful. Thousands of people came to the defense of the city and blocked the roads. But even after Russian troops entered Enerhodar, people continued to march peacefully under Ukrainian flags. During the latest march, the Russians used weapons. Several people were injured.

Deputy Mayor of Enerhodar, Ivan Samoidyuk, was abducted. His family still does not know where he is.

Until recently, Mayor Dmytro Orlov coordinated the city’s life support processes and ran his own Telegram channel, from which people drew all the necessary information. This resource is currently silent. Dmytro Orlov’s whereabouts are unknown.

The Russians and their allies are forming a fake government in Enerhodar

The Russians in Enerhodar are led by Major General Valery Vasiliev, Chief of the Radiation Chemical and Biological Protection Forces of the Russian Federation. The Russians fired on nuclear power plants, creating a threat of nuclear catastrophe. They connected Russian broadcasts to the city and intimidated citizens by spreading information that mobile communications were being eavesdropped on and that activists were being hunted down in Enerhodar. Most deputies of the City Council have resigned to avoid pressure and coercion from the Russian occupiers to create «People’s Republics.»

The Russians and their allies have already begun to create fake authorities. Shevchyk’s chief collaborator, who was a deputy of the City Council from OPZZH, was appointed as the head of the «administration.» Irina Gorbatyuk, a journalist and a representative of the Moscow Church, was appointed its secretary. Enerhoatom stressed that these decisions have no legal power or legal meaning.

As for the humanitarian situation in the city and what is known about people who are abducted, the appointed «new leaders of the city» spoke with the collaborators:

• Jan Dabizh, Executive Committee Manager of the Enerhodar City Council,
• Public activist ex-mayor of Enerhodar Viktor Buchnev.

You can read the conversation between them at this link.

The creation of this program is partially or fully funded by the Human Rights Fund of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The contents and opinions expressed in this issue of the program are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Embassy.

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