Ukraine Accuses Russian Troops Of Breaking Up Anti-invasion Demonstrations By Kherson Residents With Grenades And Gunfire

Illustration of Russian troops in Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/Mil.ru)

JAKARTA - The Ukrainian Armed Forces said Russian troops used stun grenades and gunfire to disperse pro-Ukrainian protesters in the occupied southern city of Kherson on Monday.

Nearly a month after the Russian invasion of Ukraine which took place since February 24, the intensity of tension between Russian and Ukrainian troops has increased in various regions.

Russia did not immediately comment on the allegations related to the incident in Kherson. From the start, Moscow underlined, denying targeting civilians.

Video footage showed several hundred protesters in Kherson Freedom Square running and for cover as projectiles landed around them. A loud bang could be heard and there was a cloud of whitish smoke. Gunshots can also be heard.

"Russian security forces ran, started throwing stun grenades into the crowd and shooting," the press service of the Ukrainian armed forces said in a statement.

It said at least one person was injured but it was not clear how they received their injuries. Reuters was unable to independently verify what weapons were fired.

The video shows some of the protesters returning to the square. A man in a black hat walked backwards, stopped across the street from the Russian troops, and stood there alone, holding a small Ukrainian flag above his head.

The city of Kherson, the regional capital of about 250.000 people, was the first major urban center to fall to Russian forces after they invaded Ukraine on February 24.

Since then, population groups have held regular rallies in central Kherson, protesting the occupation and showing their support for the government in Kyiv by waving the Ukrainian flag.

Earlier this month, Ukrainian authorities said members of the Russian National Guard had detained more than 400 people in the Kherson region for protesting the occupation. Protesters accuse Russia of trying to create a police state there.

It is known that Russia called the war a special military operation to disarm Ukraine and protect it from the Nazis. Meanwhile, the West has portrayed this as a false pretext for a war of unwarranted aggression, to conquer a country that President Vladimir Putin has described as illegitimate.