A week since the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson was liberated, residents can't escape reminders of the terrifying eight months they spent under Russian occupation: missing people, mines everywhere, closed shops and restaurants, a scarcity of electricity and water -- and explosions day and night as Russian and Ukrainian forces battle just across the Dnieper River.
Despite these hardships, Kherson residents are expressing a mix of relief, optimism, and even joy — not least because of their regained freedom to express themselves at all.
