Before the full-scale war, Inna Mykutska used to give tours of the Kherson region. Throughout the occupation, the guide stayed in her hometown. However, even under the threat of her own life, she embroidered Ukrainian shirts and kept a diary on social media.

"My feeling about the occupation is that you are locked in a cage. In a police state. The window of freedom has been slammed shut. It's a nasty feeling. The year was 1937. Russian propagandists arrived. They were preparing the city for a pseudo-referendum. What were the people of Kherson talking about? They were afraid. The task was to survive and not to betray the country.

Searches of friends and children. They were repairing their equipment near my house. The Buryats told me that they were at home there. And I could leave if I didn't like something.

The most difficult thing was the loss of my freedom. I was offered a job three times to work for the orcs. I changed my accommodation. There was no guarantee that things would continue to be good. I was hiding for six months.

I didn't hold a ruble in my hands. I was lucky.

We were very afraid that the situation would be like in Crimea or in the East. We were afraid to get stuck in this shit," said Inna, a resident of Kherson.Â