Three years after liberation, Ukraine’s Kherson faces another kind of siege

KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — Most of the streets of Kherson are empty now. Three years after the liberation ended a nine-month Russian occupation, the city that once erupted in joy has sunk into a wary stillness — a place where daily life unfolds behind walls or underground.

On Nov. 11, 2022, people poured into the main square of the southern Ukrainian port city, waving blue-and-yellow flags and embracing the soldiers who had freed them after the months under Russian control. They believed the worst was over.

Instead, the war changed shape. From across the Dnipro River, Russian troops strike with regular intensity — and drones now prowl the skies above a city of broken windows and empty courtyards.

Still, those who stayed insist that even the life in a mostly empty and shuttered city is easi