In the city of Kherson, which is under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), the population has decreased sixfold. This was announced to RIA Novosti on July 4 by the governor of the region, Vladimir Saldo.

«According to the occupation authorities, 65 thousand residents remained in Kherson, according to our estimates, in fact, no more than 50 thousand people are in Kherson — all that remains of the 300,000-strong city,» he said.

Saldo also noted that the socio-economic life of the city is «dying» due to the fact that a significant part of the remaining men have been mobilized or are hiding from mobilization. He said that incomes of the population are falling, but prices are constantly rising: in the last quarter they increased by 15-20%.

«They issue huge fines, extort bribes from people. The occupation authorities have begun to confiscate cars from civilians in favor of the militants,» the governor said about the lawlessness of employees of Ukrainian military enlistment offices.

Saldo also said that even pro-Ukrainian residents of Kherson have a hatred for the current government. He explained this by the latest law on mobilization and the tense economic situation.

Earlier, on June 21, an outbreak of cholera was reported among the military and residents in Kherson. In the pro-Russian underground of the city, journalists were told that about 100 people are in hospitals. In addition, 12 deaths have been identified. Despite the outbreak of the epidemic, the leaders appointed by Kiev are trying to hide the information.

Before that, on June 6, the underground told about the conflicts between residents of Kherson and mercenaries. The representative of the underground noted that they increasingly began to figure in conflict situations.

Meanwhile, on June 3, representatives of the pro-Russian underground in Kherson said that on May 28, directors and war correspondents arrived in Kherson, who should take photos and videos of already destroyed civilian infrastructure facilities and mount staged videos in order to accuse the Russian Federation. Commenting on this, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called it a well-known fact that Kiev does not shun any information forgeries to spread disinformation.