Despite the fact that the Zelenopid territorial community of the Kakhovka district has been under Russian occupation for more than four years, the village military administration continues to operate. Remotely, without access to some state registers and without the ability to exercise all powers, the staff maintain contact with residents, provide administrative and social services, coordinate assistance and prepare for the restoration of the community after deoccupation.
Margarita Kovalenko, secretary of the executive committee of the Zelenopid village council, says that before the full-scale invasion her work was completely different.
“Before the war my duties included organizing the work of the executive committee, preparing draft decisions, performing notarial acts, and the state registration of civil status acts. Now the specifics of the work have significantly changed due to martial law and the temporary occupation of the territory. Some state registers do not operate, and the exercise of certain powers has become impossible,” she says.
According to her, today the main work is focused on supporting people. Employees of the military administration collect and summarize information about the situation in the community, monitor the condition of electricity and water supply, the availability of medical services, prepare responses to citizens’ appeals, official letters and requests from authorities, participate in coordination meetings and maintain constant contact with residents.
“We consult people by phone, explain the procedures for resolving various issues, carry out the instructions of the head of the military administration that are related to ensuring the community’s livelihood,” says Kovalenko.
The Zelenopid village military administration was created by presidential decree in September 2022. That marked the beginning of forming a new system of work under occupation. Although today all employees work remotely, it has been possible to establish continuity of work and maintain constant communication among staff for prompt decision-making. The most important task, according to the executive committee secretary, remains maintaining contact with people.
“For us the priority is to be in contact with the community residents and respond to their needs. We also support our servicemen and members of their families who seek help. A separate direction is social protection of the population. In particular, children registered in the Zelenopid community who returned from temporarily occupied territory and were interviewed at the Child Rights Protection Center can receive one-time financial assistance,” says Margarita Kovalenko.
Citizens are received in Odesa, at the Kherson Humanitarian Center “Free Together”.
“It was hard to come to terms with losing our home”
In the first days of the full-scale invasion, recalls Ms. Margarita, in some settlements entrances and exits were almost immediately blocked, products began to disappear from stores, medicines from pharmacies, and fuel from gas stations. The community was supported by international humanitarian organizations, in particular the NGO “City of Strength” and the UN Women structure. They delivered food, hygiene kits, medicines, baby food and diapers. First of all, aid went to the most vulnerable groups — families with children, elderly people, and persons with disabilities. But the authorities tried not to leave other residents of the community without support. Local farmers and entrepreneurs also played a major role then, helping with dairy products, bread and vegetables. It was thanks to joint efforts that in the first months it was possible to support people.
After the capture of the community, local government employees found themselves under constant pressure from the occupying authorities. Despite this, says Margarita Kovalenko, they categorically refused to cooperate with the Russians.
“We did not cooperate with the occupying authorities. In those conditions we focused exclusively on humanitarian and household issues that were necessary for the community’s survival. Some areas of work had to be suspended, but we continued to support people, collect relevant information and coordinate our actions as much as possible,” she says.
According to her, the occupiers did not immediately create their own administration. At first they came to the community leadership, tried to persuade officials to cooperate and exerted psychological pressure.
“They would arrive, enter the village head’s office, talk about cooperation. But everyone refused. We were warned, pressured, but no one agreed to work for the occupiers,” notes Margarita Kovalenko.
The turning point was August 5, 2022, when the Russians kidnapped the village head of Zelenyi Pid for refusing to cooperate. After that, according to the head of the executive committee, the occupiers began to throw out Ukrainian symbols from administrative buildings and to “take charge” in the community.
Margarita Kovalenko remained under occupation until August 2022. She made her first attempt to evacuate in the spring, but it proved unsuccessful.
“In April I left together with my son. Then the road through Davydiv Brid was still open. But elderly people were traveling with us, and unfortunately we could not leave. We had to return home. In August we left with the whole family — with my husband and children. We traveled via Vasylivka. We stood in the field for five days waiting for a chance to pass through, she recalls. — It was a very sad experience. But today I am certain: we made the right decision. We saved our lives, and the lives and safety of the children are the most valuable. At first it was very hard to come to terms with losing our home. But gradually you understand: everything can be rebuilt. The most important thing is that family is nearby, that everyone is alive. That is what has real value”.
The military administration receives information about the situation in the occupied territory from local residents who remain in the community. According to Margarita Kovalenko, the situation there is difficult. One of the most acute problems is a shortage of fuel, which negatively affects literally all spheres of life — people cannot move around normally, get to hospitals to receive necessary medical care, or buy food.
At the same time prices continue to rise. According to locals, certain food products have become almost twice as expensive compared to previous periods. In addition, there is a shortage of many goods.
Serious problems remain with communal infrastructure, in particular power and water supply, as well as the lack of communication and internet.
“We have unstable operation of the power system, constant voltage fluctuations. Water towers periodically fail, which causes interruptions in the water supply,” notes Margarita Kovalenko.
According to the head of the executive committee, damage to a number of facilities in the Zelenopid community is known. In particular, the gymnasium in the village of Fedorivka is partially destroyed, and the Kakhovskyi Vocational Agrarian Lyceum in the village of Zelenyi Pid. The village military administration keeps a record of damaged and destroyed property, however the real scale of the losses can only be established after the deoccupation of the community.
How the community supports its residents
Although people have dispersed across different regions of Ukraine, the military administration tries not to lose contact with them. For this, Kovalenko says, several communication channels are used at once — they regularly update information on the community’s official website, publish contacts of structural units, and operate a hotline. The community’s official Facebook page remains a very important channel, where all important news is reported promptly.
“We ask people to pass information to one another, especially to those who do not know how to contact the military administration. Thanks to this, it is possible to reach many more of our residents,” she says.
The community also has a comprehensive social protection program. Financial assistance can be received by war veterans, servicemen and members of their families, people with disabilities, orphans, internally displaced persons, low-income families and other socially vulnerable categories of residents of the Zelenopid community.
“We will have to start with demining”
Speaking about the future, Margarita Kovalenko does not hide: after deoccupation the community will face a huge number of challenges. The very first is demining.
“The basis of our community’s economy is crop production. Therefore the first step must be demining the territories so that people can safely return to working the land,” the official notes.
The next major task will be restoring the irrigation system, without which agriculture on the left bank of the Kherson region is practically impossible, and restoring critical infrastructure — roads, power and water supply, educational, medical and social protection facilities. And the greatest challenge will be the return of people after deoccupation.
“The Zelenopid community is part of the Kherson region. And Kherson region is a land of sun, steppes, fertile soil, tasty watermelons and, most importantly, indomitable people. I believe that our people will return here — conscious, motivated, ready to live and develop their community. More than anything I want to hear children’s laughter on our streets again. I believe that the day will surely come when we will all return home, rebuild our community together and create its new future,” said Margarita Kovalenko.