Ukraine war: The cost of occupation in Kherson

There are moments when this war feels utterly mindless. Witnessing the visible trauma in the village of Kreshchenivka is one of those instances.

"Those Russians said they were liberators, they just started robbing us!" says a tearful Fedir. He says they took his car, furniture and mattresses. Nearly every house on his street has been damaged.

The 69-year-old lives in a part of the southern Kherson region which has been liberated by Ukrainian troops earlier in October. "My head aches from all the shelling, we almost starved to death in the first few months," he said.

There is still no power, water, and the locals rely on volunteers for food.

Our journey to him took us along poorly surfaced roads, which only deteriorated as we continued south towards the front line.

To the right, piles of dug earth stretch for miles next to the road - a Ukrainian defensive measure to force Russian forces up a single route.