Latest / Im Krisenmodus / Kherson Under Drone Attack: How a City Survives in the Shadow of War

Transcript

Kherson Under Drone Attack: How a City Survives in the Shadow of War · Im Krisenmodus

• 0:00
  Die Übersetzung von Jans Stimme vom Deutschen ins Englische wurde mit einer KI erstellt.
• 0:06
  Imagine you take public transit and at the start of your journey you don't even
• 0:10
  know if you will reach your destination because a drone might strike the bus or the trams.
• 0:15
  How does a city live when bus drivers have to learn how to outrun drones?
• 0:19
  When children are actually supposed to be evacuated yet thousands stay anyway?
• 0:23
  And when for many people the day doesn't end in their own bedroom but in the basement?
• 0:27
  A few days ago I was in Kursen in the south of Ukraine. Ich habe mich mit Menschen,
• 0:31
  die genau wie das Leben leben. Ein von ihnen ist Maxim.
• 0:35
  Er hat die Buss-Bus in der Stadt seit 17 Jahren gearbeitet. Und jetzt ist er,
• 0:39
  dass er nicht mehr die Zeit über die Zeit über die Passagierungen ist,
• 0:42
  sondern eher wie ein Drone-Attack zu überleben. Ja.
• 0:50
  Drone-Attacks haben sich sehr viel erhöht. Es gibt auch immer noch die Artilie-Shellung.
• 0:54
  Aber Artilie-Shellung ist Artilie-Shellung.
• 0:57
  Wir haben gewohnt es, zu einem bestimmten Fall. However, when drones attack, it's something else.
• 1:02
  We are equipped with electronic tracking devices, so it can be frightening when
• 1:05
  a signal appears on the screen and you realize a drone is circling nearby.
• 1:09
  We also wear additional protection, a helmet. And in moments like that,
• 1:13
  you have to act quickly and try to get people to the nearest shelter as fast as possible.
• 1:21
  How does a city and the residents endure something like this?
• 1:24
  That is what this episode is about.
• 1:28
  In Crisis Mode The Podcast from Conflict Zones with Jan Jessen.
• 1:36
  Hello, I am Jan Jessen, Head of Politics at the NRZ and a War and Crisis Reporter
• 1:41
  for the Funke Mediengrupper.
• 1:43
  You can find my articles in the NRZ, the WAZ, the Berliner Morgenpost,
• 1:48
  the Hamburger Abendblatt, and on our online portals.
• 1:51
  A few days ago, I was traveling in Kherson, a city in the south of Ukraine.
• 1:56
  It is a city we have reported on many times here in this podcast.
• 2:00
  We will put a few of those episodes in the show notes for you.
• 2:03
  Kurson is unique because it was occupied by the Russians in 2022,
• 2:08
  was liberated in November 2022, and now faces the problem that it sits on the
• 2:12
  banks of the Dnipro River, which flows through Ukraine.
• 2:16
  The Russians are positioned on the opposite side of the river,
• 2:18
  and they have been shelling the city every single day since its liberation.
• 2:23
  They use artillery, mortars, and now, in recent months and years,
• 2:27
  primarily drones that they unleash into the city, small FPV drones,
• 2:32
  those small kamikaze drones that we have also discussed multiple times on this podcast.
• 2:37
  This results in injuries almost every day and very often, unfortunately,
• 2:41
  deaths, which naturally makes life in the city highly problematic.
• 2:46
  Despite everything, 60,000 people still live in Kursen.
• 2:49
  Previously, the city had a population of around 250,000. Now it is 60,000.
• 2:55
  Viele von ihnen, aber auch die Flüchtlinge aus den verletzten Süden des Landes,
• 3:00
  Und ja, für diese Menschen, die Leben von constantem Gefahr ist.
• 3:04
  Wenn man durch die Stadt oder in Kürzen geht, kann man klar sehen,
• 3:08
  wie gefährlich die Situation ist.
• 3:10
  Als man in die Stadt geht, kann man durch nette Tunnels, die jetzt über die
• 3:14
  ganze Stadt über den ganzen Stadt. Das sind, wie ich gesagt,
• 3:17
  ein Tunnel mit Nets auf den Seiten und auf dem Topf.
• 3:20
  So dass wenn Drones fliegen, sie nicht auf die Fahrzeuge unterhalten.
• 3:23
  Du auch sehen Soldaten überall auf der Stadt mit Räufchen, mit Assault Räufchen,
• 3:29
  scanning the sky to see if drones are approaching
• 3:31
  and then of course when the drones arrive they try to shoot them down
• 3:35
  and these drones, when they do attack if the Russian drone pilots manage to
• 3:39
  get into the city they attack absolutely everything they don't just attack military
• 3:43
  targets though perhaps they do in some places but primarily civilians
• 3:47
  people out for a walk, people carrying their groceries children playing or even
• 3:51
  private vehicles buses, ambulances and other emergency vehicles
• 3:56
  like those belonging to the fire department Das macht Dinge unglaublich schwierig.
• 4:00
  Als wir in die Stadt in den letzten Februar für den ersten Mal mussten wir unsere
• 4:05
  Vests, die mit unseren Press-Badgen, damit wir nicht die Tarkance für russische
• 4:10
  Drone-Pilots die aktuellen Journalisten aktiv sind.
• 4:14
  During our last visit a few days ago, we also visited a bus depot in Kersen.
• 4:18
  It smelled of oil and welding smoke. We saw mechanics working on damaged vehicles.
• 4:24
  And we spoke with Vadim Melnik, the director of the Kersen Transit Authority.
• 4:28
  He told us how precarious the situation is and gave us a short tour.
• 4:32
  He showed us an ambulance that was completely destroyed, inside of which a patient
• 4:36
  had died. That's what he told us.
• 4:38
  A drone had crashed right through the roof. You see a lot of these vehicles,
• 4:41
  it's not just transit buses standing there, but other vehicles as well,
• 4:45
  and many of them were damaged.
• 4:47
  The windshields were shattered and so on. You could see that these vehicles go through a lot.
• 4:52
  And then we met Maxim. He was standing in front of an old man bus,
• 4:56
  wearing only a shrapnel vest.
• 4:58
  In the driver's cabin of the bus, there was a helmet, and next to it, a box with loose change.
• 5:05
  Hello, my name is Maxim, and I am a bus driver for public transit in Kursen.
• 5:09
  I have been doing this job for over 17 years, but in the last five years the
• 5:13
  situation significantly got worse due to Russian military aggression.
• 5:16
  Nevertheless, we keep going and continue our work.
• 5:20
  This, nevertheless, is something you hear often in Kherson.
• 5:24
  It doesn't sound melodramatic here, it sounds like a pragmatic choice made under duress.
• 5:29
  Vadim, the head of the Transit Authority, told me that buses are frequently
• 5:33
  targeted and that the bus drivers suffer from it.
• 5:36
  By now, eight drivers have been injured in attacks and two of them died.
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  So, of course, I asked Maxim why he doesn't just quit and why he keeps doing
• 5:44
  this life-threatening job. He told me,
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  Because our parents and children still live here, they need our support.
• 5:54
  Leaving is not that easy. Yes, it is dangerous here, but unfortunately,
• 5:58
  in other regions, there is often no opportunity to start a new life.
• 6:03
  That is why we continue to live and work here, Wir unterstützen uns und zusammenarbeiten.
• 6:11
  Und das ist ein wichtiges Punkt. Wenn du um Kurson umsetzt und du da bist,
• 6:17
  du natürlich fragst, warum die Menschen immer noch zu kaufen?
• 6:21
  Warum versuchen sie eine normale Leben zu halten? Warum nicht die einfach diese
• 6:26
  Stadt, die in der Ukraine ist einer der gefährlichen Gebäude?
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  Die Realität ist, für einen, dass ihre Familien dort leben, sie brauchen Arbeit
• 6:32
  und sie nicht mehr Geld außerhalb von Kurson.
• 6:35
  Viele haben ihre eigenen Häusern oder Apartements, und wenn sie zu verlassen
• 6:39
  Kursen und gehen zu Kiew oder einen anderen anderen Ukrainian-Ukrainien,
• 6:43
  sie würden sie verlieren, auf der einen Seite und auf der anderen Seite würden,
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  sie würden viel mehr für dailye expenses als sie in Kursen haben.
• 6:50
  Most Menschen einfach nicht afforden das.
• 6:52
  Die Busse in Kursen sind also viel mehr als nur standard public transit.
• 6:56
  Sie sind ein lifeline von Infrastruktur.
• 6:59
  Wir haben den Bus mit Maxim, er sat in der driver's seat, mit seinem Helmett
• 7:03
  beside ihm, als ich erwähnt.
• 7:04
  He was wearing a protective vest, admittedly an unusual sight,
• 7:08
  a bus driver in a shrapnel vest with a helmet next to him.
• 7:12
  On the very morning we arrived in Kurson, a young man had died when a bus was
• 7:16
  attacked by a Russian drone pilot.
• 7:18
  Because of that, I naturally expected the bus to be completely empty with maybe
• 7:23
  one or two people inside.
• 7:24
  But no, from stop to stop, the bus filled up until it was absolutely packed.
• 7:28
  A bus ride in Kurson costs 10 hrivnia, which is roughly 20 cents,
• 7:33
  so it's entirely affordable.
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  But as I said, it was surprising to see the bus so full, despite the mortal danger.
• 7:39
  People were commuting to work. Others were on their way to the hospital.
• 7:43
  I spoke with two elderly ladies who said they had to go to a hospital in the
• 7:47
  so-called Red Zone, the area of the city that repeatedly suffers from very heavy attacks.
• 7:52
  This too is part of the daily reality in Kurson. Hospitals are constantly attacked,
• 7:57
  medical and nursing staff are killed or wounded, and patients lose their lives.
• 8:01
  Wir hatten eine Geschichte, die wir hier auf dem Podcast diskutierten,
• 8:05
  in der Forensik-Departement in Kurson.
• 8:07
  Wir waren in die Morgue und sahen. Es hat die Vizepräsidenten von Russischen
• 8:11
  Angriff, die in verschiedenen Explosionen sterben.
• 8:14
  Shortly after our visit, that very morgue was completely destroyed in another Russian strike.
• 8:19
  These are definitively not legitimate targets of war or military objectives.
• 8:23
  It is pure terror against the civilian population of Kherson.
• 8:26
  During the ride, you could clearly feel the tension. On one hand,
• 8:30
  there were people talking quite animatedly.
• 8:32
  On the other hand, there were people who looked visibly relieved when their journey ended.
• 8:36
  You could tell that, despite the routine they live in, they know they are in
• 8:40
  mortal danger every single day and on every single ride.
• 8:44
  Outside, you could also see people walking around, standing at bus stops or
• 8:48
  shopping, and their eyes would repeatedly scan the sky with a sense of anxiety.
• 8:53
  You could tell they were constantly checking the sky for anything approaching
• 8:56
  so they could get to safety.
• 8:58
  This route also passes through the netting tunnels I mentioned earlier.
• 9:02
  They cannot prevent drones from exploding, but they reduce the impact of the blasts.
• 9:07
  I have seen this a few times now in Ukraine. You can see where a drone has struck the top of the net.
• 9:12
  They have contact fuses, meaning as soon as they hit something, they explode.
• 9:16
  The same happens with the nets. It tears a large hole in the netting above,
• 9:20
  but it mitigates the force of the explosion.
• 9:23
  If a drone hits a vehicle directly, the people inside usually die or are at
• 9:27
  least severely wounded. We have witnessed this a few times ourselves.
• 9:31
  For instance, in October of last year, we were travelling in Kramatorsk and
• 9:35
  learned that two of our colleagues had been killed.
• 9:38
  They wanted to do a story about an attacked bus stop and were targeted themselves
• 9:42
  by a Russian Lancet drone.
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  The vehicle was completely destroyed in the strike and both of them lost their lives.
• 9:49
  So these tunnels, these nets, they do help, but it is still a jarring sight
• 9:53
  to see an entire city having to be protected this way because these drones attack constantly.
• 9:59
  Maxim says that the people know exactly what his work means to them.
• 10:05
  Most people do, yes, of course. They support us and we receive a lot of gratitude
• 10:09
  because we help keep the city running.
• 10:11
  We take risks and our passengers take risks too, but people still need transportation to get to work.
• 10:18
  Und wichtig, zu kommen, zu der hospital. Deswegen ist unsere Arbeit sehr wichtig.
• 10:25
  Bus travel in Kärsson ist nicht mehr nur ein dailyes Routine.
• 10:28
  Es ist ein Stück von Infrastruktur, das die Stadt alive hält.
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  Anyone, die zu arbeiten, zu den hospitalen oder zu relatives,
• 10:35
  relies auf diese Busse und auf die Fahrer.
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  Alongside Maxim, es gibt 59 Menschen, including ein paar Frauen,
• 10:43
  die in diesen Busse und fahren alle Tage.
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  Aber wie ich sagte, jede Reise kann sich in eine Hazard sein.
• 10:49
  Oleksandr Prokudin, der Herr der Kärsson-Region, hat nur wie massiv die Gefahr in Kärsson hat.
• 10:56
  Today's greatest threats to Kherson region comes from Russian UAVs.
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  We face up to 5,500 drone attacks every week, hunting civilians,
• 11:09
  children, ambulances and rescue teams.
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  They target older people on their way to the market, children out for a walk,
• 11:20
  and paramedics responding to emergency calls.
• 11:24
  Now, Russian drone operators do not care who ends up in their sights.
• 11:30
  That is the fundamental difference between artillery shelling and these drone attacks.
• 11:35
  When we first started reporting on the war in Ukraine, we encountered drones
• 11:40
  mostly as reconnaissance drones.
• 11:41
  Back then, you had to keep an eye out, because as soon as a reconnaissance drone
• 11:45
  was spotted, it meant it was directing enemy or Russian artillery.
• 11:50
  Even so, artillery fire is very localized.
• 11:52
  Once a shell is fired, it lands somewhere, but it cannot be adjusted mid-flight.
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  With drones, it's completely different.
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  Drones fly, the pilot identifies a target below, and can steer the drone precisely
• 12:04
  into that target, regardless of whether you run away from it or not.
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  A drone attack is far more targeted than an artillery or mortar strike.
• 12:12
  This is what has drastically altered daily life in Kurson and made it highly dangerous today.
• 12:17
  Maxim mentioned earlier that he has a detector on board. We had one with us this time as well.
• 12:23
  A drone detector is an instrument that looks a bit like a tablet with three antennas.
• 12:27
  It's a plastic device with a screen.
• 12:29
  And the idea is that it scans for and picks up the signals of approaching drones.
• 12:34
  However, this only works for radio-controlled drones. It doesn't work for fiber-optic
• 12:39
  guided drones, which are increasingly appearing on the battlefield and in cities.
• 12:43
  Aber für radio-controlled Drones, dieses device catcht die radio und video-signals
• 12:48
  von der Incoming-Drone.
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  Erst du hörst ein Beeping-Sound das acceleriert, die closer die Drone gets.
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  Dann, suddenly, die Screen-Despläne ist genau das die Approche-Drone sieht.
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  Auf der einen Seite, das Bild auf der Detektor und das Bild an der Drone ist,
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  dass ein Drone irgendwo ist, ist wirklich verrückt.
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  Auf der anderen Seite, es gibt eine kleine Begriffe auf Sicherheit.
• 13:07
  Wenn du dein eigenes Fahrzeug auf der Screen-Despläne sollte sofort parken und
• 13:11
  rauskommen aus dem Auto Das ist genau das Maxim. Er sagt mir,
• 13:16
  was passiert, wenn der Detektor ist, die Alarm.
• 13:20
  Ja, ein Jahr später, oder eher ein bisschen mehr als ein Jahr,
• 13:24
  an May 20, ein Drone dropped an Explosive device near der Bus.
• 13:29
  Was hat uns was die Alarm von der Detektor. Ich sah, dass der Drone in eine
• 13:33
  Attack Position war, so ich acceleriert es etwas. Die Drone landed near der
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  Rear-Wheel, right next zu der Bus.
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  Und fortunately, es hat uns nicht direkt.
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  Maxim mentioned this pretty casually, but it was a situation that could have ended horribly.
• 13:48
  When a drone like that hits, they carry an explosive payload of up to 9 kg.
• 13:53
  That is substantial and causes massive damage.
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  Und ja, wie ich sagte, die Menschen in Kursson sind jeden Tag in Kursson und oft getötet worden.
• 14:00
  Ich erinnere mich kurz nach unserer Besuchung, auf Juli 1, da wurde ein Rapport
• 14:04
  von Kursson dass ein Drone hat in einem Bus wieder crashed. Two Menschen in der Bus died.
• 14:09
  Eine junge Frau war komplett in zwei.
• 14:12
  Die Mutter versucht, die Kind auszuliehen, well, Kind. Sie war über 18 Jahre
• 14:16
  alt und auf der Weg nach der Schule, um zu enroll.
• 14:18
  Sie wurden attackiert und wenn die Mutter versucht, sie auszuliehen,
• 14:22
  sie nur die Oberstürfe in ihren Händen.
• 14:24
  A truly horrific situation And as casually as Maxim tells it
• 14:28
  You just have to ensure you are constantly aware Constantly alert to what is
• 14:31
  happening around you And you must have good reflexes Because in those moments
• 14:36
  Just a few seconds decide whether people live or die Step on the gas,
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  look for cover Get the bus to the nearest shelter.
• 14:44
  Of course. First, you should accelerate, look for the largest available tree
• 14:49
  for cover, avoid moving in a straight line, or head to a shelter.
• 14:53
  Since the city has many shelters, a long escape is usually not necessary.
• 14:58
  The goal is to get people to the nearest shelter as quickly as possible.
• 15:05
  We must not forget that Maxim is not a soldier. Maxim is simply a bus driver,
• 15:08
  but a bus driver who has to talk about evasive maneuvers to avoid drones instead
• 15:13
  of timetables, and that is the bitter reality in this city where life somehow
• 15:18
  continues despite everything.
• 15:20
  One truly fascinating place in Kherson is the theatre. The Kherson Theatre is
• 15:24
  a massive building called the Mikola Kulish Theatre.
• 15:27
  It used to be very well known in Ukraine because it regularly hosted international festivals.
• 15:32
  The theatre had a highly renowned director and we met his daughter right there in the building.
• 15:37
  This theatre is also located in the red zone. It has been heavily damaged by
• 15:41
  countless attacks. The walls are covered in shrapnel scars.
• 15:45
  There are no windows left, only plywood panels. We met Oleksandra Kniha,
• 15:49
  who not only works at the theatre, but also volunteers with her family to support children.
• 15:56
  Our theatre building has been through a lot. It was built using the same design,
• 16:01
  as the Mariupol Drama Theatre.
• 16:04
  Currently, no performances take place here anymore. Most of our productions
• 16:08
  are now touring shows, performed in safer locations across the city and the region.
• 16:15
  Last year we had 13 premieres.
• 16:18
  Die meisten haben hier in Kherson gespielt. Wir waren sehr glücklich über das.
• 16:23
  Die meisten von ihnen waren gerade in Kherson. Und wir haben hier auch gegründet.
• 16:26
  Über die Premiere, sie sprechen von »This Theater ist eigentlich großartig.
• 16:30
  Wir sind in die Zeit, und es ist ein wirklich wunderbares Auditorium.
• 16:33
  Es hat sich in die Zeit für 600 Menschen und war immer sehr gut beendet,
• 16:38
  bevor der Russische Invasion.
• 16:40
  Während der occupation, die Russische versucht, den Regierer zu arbeiten für
• 16:43
  sie. Er hat nicht gegründet, und er wurde verletzt und verletzt in September 2022.
• 16:48
  Olexandra's father, who was the director of this theatre for many years,
• 16:52
  fled after being mistreated by the Russians for refusing to cooperate.
• 16:55
  Now they are back and they hold these theatre performances down in the basement.
• 16:59
  We went down there. It is a very small space, like a cabaret room with maybe
• 17:03
  60 or 70 seats. I don't remember exactly.
• 17:06
  They hold regular performances there. For me, this was another symbol of how
• 17:10
  these people refuse to let themselves be broken or defeated.
• 17:13
  And that culture keeps going. I found that deeply impressive because it shows
• 17:17
  how they try to live a normal life in Kursen despite everything.
• 17:23
  We organize educational and cultural events, creative workshops,
• 17:26
  classes and summer camps.
• 17:29
  We take children to the Carpathians and abroad so they can experience a safe
• 17:34
  environment and a peaceful sky and recover from the stress.
• 17:40
  Our goal is to give them unforgettable experiences and allow them to just be children.
• 17:45
  Dass sie die Möglichkeit haben, die Kinder zu leben. To just be children is
• 17:49
  no longer given in Kurson, which is why that sentence is so powerful.
• 17:53
  Alexandra also talks about the situation in the city itself.
• 17:58
  There is constant shelling and drone attacks. And unfortunately,
• 18:02
  the situation is not improving.
• 18:04
  I have already suffered two concussions myself, one from artillery shelling
• 18:08
  and the other during a drone attack. Thank God I am alive and unharmed,
• 18:13
  und ich werde immer wieder leben und arbeiten. Aber, unfortunately,
• 18:16
  die Situation ist, dass Menschen müssen die Stadt wegnehmen.
• 18:18
  Wir wissen und verstehen, das ist warum wir die Kinder zu verraten,
• 18:24
  um die Stadt zu verraten.
• 18:27
  Staying and having to leave are both true at the same time in Kurson.
• 18:32
  Oleksandra stays to help children while simultaneously trying to get those exact
• 18:36
  children out of the city.
• 18:37
  You might remember an episode of our podcast, we will definitely link it in
• 18:41
  the show notes again, where we talked specifically about the children in Kurson.
• 18:46
  There are various places in the city where safe spaces have been built,
• 18:49
  in basements for children to play and meet peers.
• 18:53
  Playing outside is life-threatening. There are videos published by the Russians
• 18:57
  themselves on their Telegram channels showing grenades being dropped from cargo
• 19:01
  or bomber drones onto playing children.
• 19:04
  It is highly dangerous for children to be outside, which is why these safe spaces
• 19:08
  exist in certain areas, allowing them to forget the madness of war for at least a few hours.
• 19:14
  We also visited a basement during our recent trip to Kursun a few days ago.
• 19:18
  It was a basement under a residential building in the Red Zone.
• 19:21
  In the evening, as dusk began to fall, several elderly people emerged from their
• 19:25
  apartments carrying their belongings and made their way down.
• 19:29
  It is a basement where they have spent every single night for a very long time,
• 19:32
  out of fear of Russian shelling and drones, simply to have a comparatively peaceful night.
• 19:38
  I met Lyudmila Rubaniak there.
• 19:40
  Lyudmila is a property manager responsible for six of the apartment blocks in that neighborhood.
• 19:45
  She acted as the manager and head of this basement. She used to work for the
• 19:49
  railway und heute, sie schaut nach diesen Blocken.
• 19:53
  Für drei Jahre, sie hat sie in dieser Basement mit anderen Residenz.
• 19:58
  Mein Name ist Liud Myla.
• 20:02
  Ich bin 64 Jahre alt und wir sind in der Stadt Kursen, in einem Basement Bunker.
• 20:09
  Wir begannen diese Place in September
• 20:11
  2023 weil es uns von shelling und weiterentwickelt uns zu diesem Tag.
• 20:18
  Wenn die Schelling passiert, wir sind nicht Angst hier.
• 20:25
  When we arrived, you have to picture it. Old, large apartment blocks,
• 20:30
  five or six stories high, showing significant signs of age with peeling plaster,
• 20:35
  not a fancy neighborhood by any means.
• 20:37
  In front of the building with the basement shelter, there stood a large concrete
• 20:41
  wall, which I would estimate was about two and a half meters high.
• 20:45
  The wall was designed to mitigate the blast waves if something hit the street.
• 20:49
  A few weeks prior, a mortar shell or some other projectile had reportedly landed right on that street.
• 20:55
  Sie waren nicht ganz sicher, was es war. Wir sind draußen und gesprochen für ein bisschen.
• 20:59
  Ludmila hat sich ein paar Dinge über sich, aber dann hat sie gesagt,
• 21:02
  dass das Bereich ist, dass es sozusagen eine Drone Highway ist,
• 21:05
  als sie gesagt hat, dass wir die Sound von Drone overhead hörten.
• 21:09
  Diese FPV-Drones sound wie laut Mosquitos. Als das Sound war gehört.
• 21:13
  Alle in die Basement nach der Basement nach der Basement kam.
• 21:16
  Es war nicht panisch, aber die elderly residents einfach gesagt,
• 21:19
  jetzt müssen wir gehen, da ist etwas in der I will not be able to get to the basement.
• 21:23
  Inside it smelled heavily of mold. Rusty pipes ran along unplastered walls.
• 21:28
  On the table stood glasses, cups and tin cans filled with cigarette butts illuminated
• 21:33
  by a bare bulb that cast a dim, pale light.
• 21:37
  It was certainly not a comfortable place. There were areas in the basement that
• 21:40
  were completely unfinished.
• 21:42
  There was a toilet in a truly dilapidated state, which I won't describe in detail.
• 21:47
  Und dann waren die Beds mit sehr dampen Blankets und ein Dirty-Carpet auf dem floor.
• 21:51
  Es war nicht ein kohesy environment, aber es war ein Ort, wo man comparativlich
• 21:55
  sicher ist. Liudmila hat gesagt, wie sie aktuell die Situation in Kursson erlebt.
• 22:03
  It is very terrifying. We are being shelled, and they won't leave us in peace.
• 22:09
  Now drones are constantly circling above us, and it feels like being in a movie.
• 22:15
  They have turned it into a veritable safari, hunting for human beings.
• 22:20
  It is truly frightening.
• 22:24
  Anyone traveling through Kurson immediately understands what she means.
• 22:28
  Aside from cities right on the front line, I have rarely experienced a city
• 22:31
  in Ukraine where the shelling is so intense and where something is constantly
• 22:35
  happening you constantly hear the,
• 22:38
  rattle of assault rifles in Kherson when mobile drone defence units become active,
• 22:44
  the danger is omnipresent and what is truly staggering is this feeling of being
• 22:48
  deliberately hunted by Russian drone pilots.
• 22:51
  There is a very cynical term used for this, human safari every time I visit
• 22:56
  I feel highly tense driving into the city because you know what you might encounter
• 23:00
  and death or injury strikes entirely at random.
• 23:03
  As I mentioned, we now tape over our press vests to avoid being targeted,
• 23:08
  but we drive around in civilian vehicles and at any moment a drone pilot might
• 23:12
  decide that our vehicle is a target to attack and destroy.
• 23:15
  When night fell, you could hear the mutual artillery duels truly begin.
• 23:19
  It gets incredibly loud when the so-called outgoings, the Ukrainian artillery
• 23:23
  fire, go out and on the other side, the Russian artillery fire comes in.
• 23:28
  Sie können die Explosionen clearly hören, aber in der Basement ist alles sehr
• 23:32
  muffled. Aber Sie können sich das viel passiert.
• 23:35
  Das ist genau das, was Liudmaila und die anderen gehen in dieser Basement jeden Abend.
• 23:42
  Wir kommen hier jeden Abend. Wir fühlen hier calm. Und sogar während der Schöne
• 23:47
  oder Schöne, wir sind nicht afraid.
• 23:50
  Das ist ein安全es Ort.
• 23:53
  Das ist ein gefährliches Ort. Well, when a musty basement becomes the place
• 23:57
  where people find peace, I think that speaks volumes about the state of a city.
• 24:02
  Yes, when we left the bunker, the buses were running again. Work was going on in the theater.
• 24:06
  Children were playing in the street and riding their bicycles around the neighborhood.
• 24:10
  And in the evening, many people will return to that basement where we also spent the night.
• 24:15
  Perhaps that is the exact answer to the question from the beginning of this podcast.
• 24:19
  How does a city live under drones? By people simply keeping going.
• 24:23
  Bus drivers, theater makers, neighbors, not because they aren't afraid,
• 24:28
  but because someone has to keep daily life running.
• 24:31
  That was today's episode of our podcast In Crisis Mode.
• 24:34
  This podcast was produced by Alexander Baumeister. He is also a journalist and
• 24:38
  works for a radio station of the Funke Mediengruppe.
• 24:41
  If you enjoyed this podcast, please like and follow us. That definitely helps
• 24:45
  make our work more visible.
• 24:47
  And feel free to write to me if you have a suggestion for one of our episodes,
• 24:51
  or if this question from Kirsten stays with you, Was hast du die meisten über die Storien von Kersen?
• 24:56
  Du kannst uns an christenmodus.funkamedian.de Geh' dir vor, bis zum nächsten Mal. Tschüss.