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The Korabel microdistrict in Kherson, better known among Kherson residents as Ostriv, is a place that everyone knows about and that hurts. There are no shops or pharmacies here; there is no electricity, gas, or heat, and the water is only technical and lasts only a few hours a day. But despite everything, people stay here. And this area is held together primarily by mutual support.
In the new issue of “Conversations about Restoration,” we spoke with Olena Shatilo, the head of the Karavela condominium, about how residents of Ostriv live today.
“Ostriv is painful for everyone. For the authorities, because people do not want to leave. For residents left without electricity, gas, or heat. Technical water is provided only for a few hours. You can’t drink it. The authorities bring drinking water. There have been no pharmacies on Ostriv for more than a year. There are no banks, shops, or even a mobile pharmacy,” says Olena Shatilo.
After the Russians significantly damaged the bridge over the Koshova River with air bombs in August 2025, ambulances and firefighters did not come to Ostriv. If something happens, the police or the National Guard arrive and take out a person already in critical condition. A significant number of the residents of the microdistrict left, but there are also those who returned. According to Olena, only two families remained in her house, one of which is hers.
Olena speaks frankly and without embellishment about interaction with the authorities. When the occupiers blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station in June 2023, Ostriv was one of the first microdistricts to go underwater, but it was left alone with trouble. There was complete chaos. People were saving themselves as best they could: “The authorities didn’t think that there were so many people left. At that time, volunteers helped us. When the bridge was damaged, the authorities announced a mandatory, not a forced, evacuation. The only communication that exists with the authorities today is “leave the Ostriv” for any problem. We simply pass on knowledge to each other, between the residents who are still here,” says Olena Shatilo.
Do local authorities help residents of condominiums on the Ostriv? Yes. They bring drinking water, open shelters, and with the onset of cold weather, they have handed over gas convectors with cylinders. But, according to Olena, the authorities’ duties end with the ceremonial handover of aid under the sights of journalists. Then everything falls on the shoulders of the townspeople themselves - the shelters have been transferred to the balance of the condominium association. The residents have to deliver the same cylinders to Mykolaiv, fill them up, and bring them back on their own, at their own expense, and under drones, without armored cars or basic protective equipment (helmets and body armor) to ensure this logistics.
“The word 'pharmacy' simply does not exist for Ostriv,” says Olena Shatilo, “so it would be nice if at least once a month medicines were delivered to the Invincibility Points. Because now our local police officer calls me and asks what medicines are needed by whom. But this is not his job. This should be done by the administration, military, or district. There is no such communication with the authorities.”
Despite many residents leaving Ostriv, there is almost no looting here. The residents themselves, together with the police, control the buildings. “I hate the phrase ‘every man for himself’. How can you be for yourself in a war? Here, one for all, and all for one,” says Olena Shatilo.
Today, Kherson and Ostriv, in particular, rely on volunteers and charitable foundations for food, water, generators, medicine, and aid after flooding: “With volunteers, the war will be won, and people will survive.” At the same time, there are those with whom, according to Olena, cooperation does not develop — due to bureaucracy, selectivity, or formal answers. We asked Olena how, in her opinion, cooperation with international organizations can be improved, which today do not always fully understand the situation on the ground: “What donors can we talk about today if even firefighters do not come to us? At meetings of the heads of the housing association, the authorities constantly tell us that reconstruction will begin only when the occupiers retreat at least 50 km.”
Despite the war, the lack of communication, and constant shelling, the condominium's territory is clean and well-groomed, with flowers growing. People plant, water, and restore: “Foreigners came to us and asked: ‘Is there a war here?’ I say, look at the windows. But the territory is well-groomed, because we believe that we will continue to live,” smiles Olena Shatilo.
The Ostriv today is about survival. About the people who stayed. About the condominiums, which have actually become crisis managers. About a mini-community that does not wait for ideal conditions, but does what it can. And about the simple truth: even in the most challenging conditions, people remain people. And stick together.
We invite you to participate in an anonymous survey to help us better understand the moods, needs, and challenges faced by the population of the Kherson region, and to assess the effectiveness of public organizations and authorities' work. Each of your answers is a crucial brick in the foundation of your future recovery. Your answers are completely anonymous and will be used exclusively in a generalized form for analytical purposes.
The interview has been produced by the Kherson Regional Charitable Foundation “Union” with the support of the European Endowment for Democracy (EED). Its contents do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of EED. Responsibility for the information and views expressed in this publication lies entirely with the authors.
