Residents queue at a water distribution point in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, last month. Credit… Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
MYKOLAIV, Ukraine – The beleaguered city of Mykolaiv emerged Monday from a 54-hour lockdown that saw officers go door-to-door in search of collaborators who officials say are responsible for aiding Russian forces to identify targets for the rockets that bombard the city daily.
The governor of the Mykolaiv region, Vitaliy Kim, declared the dramatic operation, which sealed off the city, preventing residents from entering or leaving, a success. Five people were arrested, he said, and several weapons and communication devices seized, though he did not give details.
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience over the weekend, but it was worth it,” said Mr. Kim in a video message Monday morning.
He added: “Not a single Russian-speaking person was shot.”
The need to root the collaborators, according to Mr. Kim, has been especially sharp in Mykolaiv. Few places in Ukraine have experienced the kind of sustained bombardment of Russian fire like this southern coastal city. Since the war began nearly five and a half months ago, there have been barely two dozen days without violence.
The attacks have destroyed about 1,200 houses and apartment buildings, according to the city’s mayor, Oleksandr Senkevych. Since the war began, he said, 132 residents have been killed and more than 619 injured in Russian attacks.
Amid the devastation, some residents said the co-op checks brought some comfort, despite the inconvenience.
“It calmed us down a bit,” said Valentina Hontarenko, 74, who was standing at a kiosk selling kvass, a popular drink made from fermented bread. “They asked about our connections with Russia. We don’t have any.”
During the lockdown, officers went door-to-door and stopped people on the street, checking their documents and going through phones looking for evidence they might be coordinating with Russian forces. Video of the operation released by local authorities shows officers checking computers and text messages on phones.
In a screenshot of a mobile phone text exchange, the authenticity of which could not be confirmed, someone with the screen name People’s Republic of Mykolaiv describes an area of the city as full of ‘military equipment and soldiers. The answer: “Send the coordinates.”
A sign in Mykolaiv read “Kherson Keeps in Touch,” reinforcing support from residents in the southern city of Kherson, which is currently under Russian occupation. Credit… Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
Mykolaiv is a predominantly Russian-speaking city with a pre-war population of around 500,000. It borders the Kherson region, which is largely occupied by Russian forces. That region is now the site of daily skirmishes as Ukrainian forces mount a counteroffensive aimed at pushing Russian troops eastward over the Dnipro River. Part of Ukraine’s defensive lines run through the Mykolaiv region, and Ukrainian troops often arrive in the city on rotation or to rest from the front lines.
Although most Russian artillery cannot reach Mykolaiv, Russian forces have pounded it with long-range rockets.
For weeks, Mr. Kim has warned of threats posed by collaborators, Russian-sympathetic citizens who help its military by providing information and locations of Ukrainian troops. But he has released few details and it is unclear how pernicious the problem is. Before this weekend’s lockdown, only a handful of people had been arrested on suspicion of aiding the enemy.
Last month, the immensely popular Mr. Kim posted a message to his approximately 677,000 followers on Telegram offering a $100 reward for any information leading to the arrest of an associate.
“Help save Mykolaiv from rocket attacks,” he wrote.
The weekend lockdown was part of that effort.
Residents of Mykolaiv described the law enforcement inspections as non-confrontational, though they might make some civil libertarians in Western countries cringe.
“It wasn’t very comfortable,” said a 35-year-old woman named Yelena, who was queuing with her husband to collect water from a truck. “They came and checked everything: passports, phones. They looked at who lived where.”
He added: “What is he afraid of if everything is in order?”