People in occupied Kherson can be detained by prowling Russian occupation patrols in streets and have their mobile phones checked for ‘inappropriate’ content in what appears to be a clampdown on people with pro-Ukrainian views, said Kherson regional council member Yuriy Sobolevsky.

There were reports of locals being taken away and made to have their fingerprints taken after occupation patrols found words like ‘orcs’ in their messages on phones,

Meanwhile, many Kherson residents are scrambling for a living and have to fall back on produce that comes at this time of a year from farmers while Russian occupation officials are busy delivering low-quality food products from Crimea.

The plurality of locals remain patriotic, said Sobolevsky, adding there have been not so many cases of collaboration.

‘Everyone who stayed in Kherson region is a true hero. The things that are happening there now are a nightmare. The occupiers need servile masses – they are not bothered. with resistance’.