Greetings! I, MF, National Referee and main coach of the Kherson Youth School of Chess and Draughts Iryna Kukoleva. From the same city of Kherson, which russian federation included in its «constitution» and calls «new territories». Українська версія листа тут.
Kherson is the 300,000th regional center of the Kherson region (1 million 100 thousand population), which was captured by russian troops on 01.03.2022. The city was occupied for 8.5 months, on 11.11.2022 the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) liberated Kherson and the right-bank part of the region. I can briefly say about the life and atmosphere of the occupation: the city plunged not even into the 90s, but into the Stalinist times of the 30s of the last century. Queues, total shortage of food and medicine, unemployment and lack of money, lack of quality medicine, education, free access to information, torture chambers and fear. Round-the-clock fear, when you don’t know who this time the next car from Z has arrived to. At the same time, it should be noted that during the 8.5 months of occupation, not a single Kherson resident was injured from shelling by the AFU, not a single house was destroyed! The AFU, liberating the city, targeted the objects of the occupation administration. This is in contrast to what happened later, after the occupiers fled.
Street in one of the settlements after airstrikes by Russian troops, Kherson region, November 21, 2023 / Photo: Kherson regional police/Telegram
Despite such a «quiet occupation», about 240 thousand Kherson residents out of 300, abandoned their homes and property and fled from the russian «liberation». To do this, it was necessary to find transport, overcome dozens of russian checkpoints where they could search, detain, drive through minefields and under shelling across the front line. And still, dropping everything, people stayed. Because, it is better to lose everything, but to be without russians. Of course, no one held a «referendum on joining russian federation». Those of the few Kherson residents who remained locked in their homes, and the russians brought groups of «fake residents» from the Crimea and Krasnodar, who went to the polling (election) stations and voted on camera (the same people at different polling stations). Then the desired result was written, no one even counted the fictitious ballots. This is about the «democracy» of russian federation.
Occupied Kherson in 2022 / Photo: Getty Images
Now let’s move on to draughts life.
Until 24.02.2022, Kherson was one of the leading centers of Ukrainian draughts. A specialized chess and draughts sports school has been operating here for more than 30 years, where many talented young draughts players studied: National Masters, champions and prize-winners of the Ukrainian championships, participants in the youth world and European championships. The Kherson Children and Youth Sports School (KCYSS) for chess and draughts is located in the city center, had modern equipment for competitions (even electronic boards) and, most importantly, the largest and best specialized premises in Ukraine – a two-storey comfortable club with its own garden, where the Ukrainian championships were held every year.
Iryna Kukoleva (left) holds an awards ceremony for athletes at the Youth Sports School (KCYSS)
After the full-scale invasion, the KCYSS building was captured by the russians. Not a single Kherson resident took their children to train under the russian rag. Therefore, we lost access to in-person training and competitions.
After escaping, having grabbed our laptops and electronic clocks, the russians continued to terrorize our city, and especially the central part where the chess and draughts club is located, with shelling from the opposite bank of the river Dnipro. Artillery shelling and drone strikes take place around the clock, chaotically, on civilian targets and the civilian population. You can see more about this in the film by American journalist Zarina Zabriskie «Kherson. Drone Safari».
Starting in 2023, the Kherson Chess and Draughts Club has been repeatedly shelled. This is an architectural monument – the building of the former consulate of the Republic of Italy, built in 1905 by the Italian vice-consul Anatra and almost all the windows have already been broken out, the roof, facade, doors, and heating pipes have been damaged. As a result of daily shelling, it is impossible to start repairing the building and it is gradually destroying even more.
Kherson. KCYSS during the war
Most of the students of the KCYSS were forced to leave their hometown during the occupation and wander around other cities in Ukraine and abroad. They have still not been able to return home: their homes are destroyed and, in general, due to round-the-clock shelling by the russians, it is impossible to live in the city. Therefore, for 4 years and on they have been training only online. No face-to-face training, no face-to-face competitions in the Kherson region, only infrequent trips to other cities for Ukrainian championships.
russian federation continue to destroy other institutions for youth. The Ice Palace, where the participant of the Olympic Games in Milan Kirill Marsak (figure skating) and the youth hockey team «Dnipro» trained – multiple prize-winner of the Ukrainian championships, were destroyed by the bombs. Stadiums, most schools and most residential buildings were destroyed. The buildings of Kherson State University with a swimming pool and gyms were destroyed. Sports coaches, including draughts and chess, used to study at the faculty of physical education at this university. Namely, I and another coach Leonid Bernnikov – National Master, who now, instead of training children and participating in the European Youth Championship, is defending his hometown and country from russian invaders at the war. The city's «calling card» – the Maritime Academy (Kherson-port city) was also destroyed, where the National Master, multiple youth champion of Ukraine among and participant of the world and European youth championships, Kirill Polievshchikov, used to study.
Kherson. Sports facilities destroyed by war
Most of the Kherson region is located on the left bank of the Dnipro River and remains under russian occupation. And things are even worse there. Although the AFU do not terrorize the civilian population with shelling, as the russian army does with the right-bank part of the region, the Russians' «management» has dramatically worsened the conditions of living of the population. The lack of qualified medicine, total militarization and russification of education, denunciations, non-payment of salaries, lawlessness and defenselessness, constant interruptions in heat and water supply, in the once flourishing cities on the Dnipro River (Oleshki, Hola Prystan) a humanitarian catastrophe: russian federation mined the roads to these places and there is no food and medicine delivery, electricity, gas, water there for many months. Of the once million population, no more than 150 thousand locals stay in the occupied part of the Kherson region. Everyone who could, abandoned their property and housing, fled. Their housing is «nationalized» by the occupation administration and families of civilians who come from russian federation settle there. They really like the Ukrainian land and Ukrainian housing free for them. The replacement of the local Ukrainian population in the occupied territories with newcomers from the regions of russian federation is happening very actively, their number already exceeds the number of local residents. These actions of russian federation fall under the definition of genocide crimes (forced change of the ethnic composition of the territories).
Kherson region during the war
The country, whose athletes are going to be allowed to international competitions as decent people, has not even thought of paying any reparations for lost property, destroyed lives, or loss of loved members of their families. No conscious apologies have been heard from the russian and belarusian draughts players either. Crimes against Ukrainians are not committed by putin personally, but by «ordinary» Russian-Belarusians who «just wanted money», who have children and other relatives who really want to play draughts. It is not the military who settle in Ukrainian homes, but «peaceful people» who simply like Ukrainian property. Ukrainian children are also sent to military camps by ordinary teachers who came from russian federation. And they all have children who want to take part in draughts competitions, or their relatives and friends. Even those who have never been to the occupied territories, while staying in russian federation, work for its military machine. Therefore, excuses do not matter, this don’t work. Actions matter! If you or your parents live in russian federation or belarus, work in russian federation or belarus, you have no place in decent society. I hope that the youth world and European championships still remain decent ones.
PACE demands continued suspension of athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus from international competitions until the end of the war / Photo: mms.gov.ua