Zelenskyi says Ukraine\u2019s counteroffensive is \u201cnot a Hollywood movie\u201d. In Kherson region, Russian forces collect the bodies of flood victims, and send them to an undisclosed location, Ukraine government spokesperson says. The share of Ukrainians satisfied with their freedom triples, a survey finds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview with the BBC President Zelenskyi said one of the reasons battlefield progress in Ukraine\u2019s counteroffensive had been \u201cslower than desired\u201d is because large swaths of territory had been mined by the Russians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSome people believe this is a Hollywood movie and expect results now. It’s not,\u201d he told the BBC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zelenskyi said the military push was not going easily because 200,000 square km of Ukrainian territory had been mined by Russian forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhatever some might want, including attempts to pressure us, with all due respect, we will advance on the battlefield the way we deem best,\u201d Zelenskyi added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russian-installed officials in left-bank Kherson region collect the bodies of flood victims and send them to an unknown location about two weeks after flooding that inundated the area following Russia\u2019s blowing up of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, head of the press office of the Kherson regional military administration Oleksandr Tolokonnikov told Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey put all bodies they find into black bags and take them away in an undisclosed direction. They say they take them to Kalanchak,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said it is not possible to count the bodies of the dead that families bring to hospitals. \u201cThey write down any other cause of death but drowning, so that there is no record of victims of their terrorist act and they can hide their crimes, as always,\u201d Tolokonnikov said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said Russian occupying forces ignore the calls by local residents to clear the rubble of the collapsed houses, as there could be bodies in the rubble of homes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The number of victims, particularly the number of those killed, could be very high, he said, adding that Ukrainian authorities cannot record the number of victims as they cannot access the area under Russian occupation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll we can get is the number of the dead provided by the hospital. For now, it\u2019s 11 in Oleshky, and about the same number in Hola Prystan,\u201d Tolokonnikov said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The share of Ukrainians who say they are satisfied with their freedom grew from 62 per cent in 2021 to 84 per cent in 2023, a survey conducted by the Razumkov Center finds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked what was more important: freedom or equality, 75 per cent chose freedom, up from 71 per cent in 2022, and 64 per cent in 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked to choose between freedom and security, a majority of Ukrainians (54.5 per cent) chose security over freedom (44 per cent). But overall the choice of security declined considerably compared with 66 per cent in 2020. All of this is happening against a backdrop of a full-scale war and a growing demand for feeling safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked to choose between freedom and prosperity, Ukrainians fall firmly on the side of freedom. In 2010, roughly equal shares of Ukrainians chose freedom (32 per cent) and prosperity (30 per cent). In May 2023, 51 per cent of Ukrainians chose freedom (51 per cent) over prosperity (23 per cent). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The survey was held by the Razumkov Center between May 23 and 31, 2023, through MATRA program financed by the government of the Netherlands. The pollster surveyed a sample of 2,020 adults over the age of 18. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The margin of error does not exceed 2.3 per cent. Additional sampling errors may result from forced migration of millions of Ukrainians following the Russian aggression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n