"We will return to Kherson and restore it in all its beauty"

In the Kherson region, the restructuring of transport and economic systems continues, taking into account new logistical conditions, increased security measures and the development of key infrastructure projects. The governor of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, told Izvestia on June 3 on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). For more information about the development of transport and housing infrastructure, security measures on key routes, as well as the state of agriculture in the region, see the material.

"The highway has been targeted because supplies are moving along it"

— Conflicting information has recently appeared in open sources about the section of the Novorossiya highway running from the Rostov region towards Crimea through new regions. What is really happening on this route today and how safe is it for traffic?

— The Novorossiya highway (R-280) has been overhauled on behalf of the President. Moreover, she has now received a second wind.: Work is underway there to create a full-fledged four-lane highway, which will be called the Azov Ring and will be of a completely different quality. Now the road is in good condition, and almost all cargo transport heading to Crimea passes through it, since there are no other routes.

All of them go through the Kherson region and enter Crimea in three directions. This is an overland corridor. Recently, the enemy has been receiving more and more unmanned systems that can reach deep into the region and work in the rear, in military terms.

The highway was targeted because it is being supplied. We can even say that this is the "road of life": it supplies both our region and neighboring regions, including Crimea. The enemy has intensified attacks and increased the presence of drones over this particular highway.

The targets are primarily transportation and technological vehicles transporting fuel and equipment. There have already been cases of damage to milk trucks, since these are cisterns. According to available information, artificial intelligence systems are used to target moving vehicles, as well as equipment during stops.

Currently, a system has been developed to counter unmanned vehicles, detect them and suppress them in a timely manner, which makes it possible to ensure traffic safety.

The summer health season, the holiday period and school holidays are beginning, so a large number of passenger vehicles are moving towards Crimea and back. In this regard, the flows have been redistributed so as not to use only one familiar route through the Dzhankoy checkpoint. We have three entrances, and all three access roads have been repaired. Therefore, movement to the western coast of Crimea is possible through various checkpoints: through Armyansk, Perekop, central Crimea, as well as through the Dzhankoy checkpoint in the eastern direction.

— In other words, the redistribution of traffic flows is primarily aimed at ensuring more convenient passage of passenger transport through the nearest point in the Dzhankoy area? And is this also related to security measures?

— This was done primarily for convenience reasons, in order to relieve traffic flows, since the level of safety decreases with a large flow. In addition, this allows us to provide an opportunity now: on the territory of Crimea, in the Dzhankoy area and in the direction of the Kherson region, large-scale road repairs are underway, the load is high, and therefore alternative travel corridors are provided for the convenience of motorists and freight transport. Many people didn't know about it before. If, for example, you need to go to Yevpatoria, it is better to turn towards Armyansk or Perekop: it is closer there, and the roads are in good condition, and the route is quite scenic.

Now the highway is working, but the transport is moving. The opposition of mobile groups, electronic warfare and others is intensifying, and I will not reveal secrets yet that will be directed against the activity of enemy unmanned systems.

"This is not the first election for us, so we have already gained some experience"

— Elections will be held in the Kherson region in September, which will be an important stage, including in connection with the voting on the election of deputies to the State Duma and the completion of the formation of the region in the legislative contour of the Russian Federation. What security measures are provided in this regard, and how will the conduct of voting be ensured, as well as the protection of members of election commissions and voters?

— As you know, this is the first election to the State Duma in which deputies representing our territory will participate. At the same time, the elections are not the first for us, so we have already gained some experience, including in organizing the safe expression of the will of citizens.

Currently, measures have been developed in this direction jointly with the National Guard troops and representatives of the Armed Forces, which will allow residents to vote even in the 15-kilometer frontline strip that runs along the Dnieper River from the Black Sea to the Zaporizhia region in the north.

In general, the activity of residents shows that people want to participate in the process of forming power and have their representatives in power — those whom they consider necessary. Therefore, the voting was very active, including throughout the Kherson region.

"They are returning to old, but still effective practices in agriculture"

— On June 6, a sad date will come for your region — three years since the Kakhovskaya HPP dam was blown up. How has the region managed to adapt during this time, and how has agriculture adapted to work in the absence of a large water supply?

— This was a very serious blow to the economy of the Kherson region, to its opportunities in the agricultural sector, which were extremely attractive to everyone involved in the agricultural business and agriculture in general.

Our farmers have had a hard time in three years. Moreover, as you know, trouble does not come alone: for two years in a row, in 2024 and 2025, there was a severe drought, which occurs once every 80-100 years. This further affected the farmers of the Kherson region and the entire water supply system of the region, including the channels that were laid.

I emphasize that it was a man—made system of land reclamation and water resources, which combined about 10 thousand kilometers of canals - it was a whole network. A significant part of this system was located in the territory of the Kherson region. It was the Kakhovskaya dam that provided water supply: the Dnieper River supplied part of the Zaporizhia region and the entire northern part of the Crimea with water. The canal was stretched almost to Kerch.

After that, everything was stopped, and not just adjustments, but drastic changes were made to the corresponding plans, to which people were already accustomed when working on the land.

In three years, they began to switch to less moisture-loving crops. Farmers both last year and the year before were able to harvest crops even in difficult conditions thanks to the help of the Russian Government and subsidies allocated to agricultural producers — they still survived. This year, the weather situation is already somewhat different, so we hope for a more favorable harvest.

— Which cultures have you reoriented to?

— They have shifted to crops that are less moisture-loving. They began to sow more grains and vegetables. At the same time, the acreage decreased, which, accordingly, reduced the need for water. Underground sources began to be used for water supply: wells were used — additional groundwater resources that had not been used before and have now been put back into operation.I would like to emphasize separately that not only agriculture is important here, but also water supply to settlements.

Thanks to the socio-economic development program developed on behalf of the President, a significant amount of work has already been carried out to replace water supply networks and communications. Old pipes with leaks have been replaced, which has reduced losses. Currently, the water supply as a whole is already practically compliant with the standard in those settlements where previously there were problems with the water supply.

Therefore, thanks to all this, more attention has now been paid to melon crops, which are traditional for the Kherson region. Animal husbandry, which existed in the Kherson region before the construction of the Kakhovka system, also began to develop again. There is a return to the old, now largely forgotten, but still effective practices in agriculture.

Sheep and cattle breeding, and milk production have also begun to fill the niches that were lost with the loss of the reservoir and the shutdown of land reclamation.

"In a broad historical context, Kherson is a Russian city"

— Despite the difficult conditions related to water supply and security, a free economic zone operates in the region at the same time, as well as large-scale construction in Skadovsk and Genichesk. Which companies are currently entering the free economic zone and which investment and construction projects are planned for implementation? In addition, is the proposal to build a highway along the spit, which Mr. Aksenov previously mentioned, being considered?

— This idea is still being maintained and will be implemented when the time comes for this, there will be another land corridor.

There are many people in need of housing in the Kherson region: these are specialists who have come to work, doctors, teachers, representatives of various executive bodies and territorial divisions of federal agencies, as well as local residents who continue to return home, since not all of their housing, unfortunately, has been preserved intact.

All this became a factor that pushed the development of housing construction, both multi—apartment and individual. Three years ago, after the president's parting words, I was at his meeting, and he said that it was necessary to develop construction, as it would become a "locomotive" for the entire economy.

Then the Institute of Spatial Planning, the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation and the working group created to support this special infrastructure project developed an action plan. According to this plan, a large number of land plots have already been allocated, prepared and executed.

First of all, these are the key growth points — Genichesk and Kakhovka, fairly large resort-type cities where construction is on a large scale. Quite serious companies are coming in. We do not always consider small ones, because it is important that they are stable and reliable developers, that the complex buildings are of high quality, and that they are reliable, sustainable companies.

We are currently planning to commission about 1.5 million square meters of housing by 2030. Already this year, almost 250 thousand square meters will be commissioned, along with residential housing and apartment buildings. At the same time, all this entails further development. It is pointless to build multi-family housing without engineering infrastructure.

Therefore, funds were allocated for the construction of water supply networks, sewage pumping stations and sewage treatment plants, as well as for the construction of roads. All this together is now forming a comprehensive urban development plan. A detailed master plan for the development of the Kherson region has been developed, which identifies the main settlements. We are working according to this plan. As practice shows, even an imperfect plan is better than a well-organized chaos.

— So we are actually talking about the construction of a new capital?

— Both the capital and the resort towns.

— Is Genichesk the current "capital"?

— Genichesk is a temporary administrative center. The real capital is Kherson. And we are sure that we will return to Kherson and restore it in all its fullness and beauty, which His Serene Highness Prince Potemkin began to shape at one time.

I worked as the mayor of Kherson for 11 years. I was elected three times by the residents, and I served as the mayor of Kherson. This is my hometown, and in a broader historical context, Kherson is a Russian city. Any historical fact can confirm this. Although Kiev propaganda is trying to act in the spirit of George Orwell's novel "1984": they seek to remove historical facts and reinterpret them.

"It is necessary to convey the truth by any means"

— How do you assess the recent steps related to the formation of the pantheon of national heroes of Ukraine, given that they have already caused serious ideological contradictions, in particular with Poland? How do you feel about the initiatives to reburial such figures as Melnik, Bandera and Konovalets?

— I look at it the same way as sane people. But let's still be aware of the events taking place in the world. It's not just that the head of the Kiev regime did it, it means he received a sanction for it.

This has been happening gradually since 2014. They created the Institute of Memory, which began to deal with the change of historical facts. The same Zelensky — he was brought up with us, he knows what history is, but, nevertheless, carries out orders to change historical facts. And for some reason, it seems, and the impression, as a rule, is rarely false, that all this will soon be forgotten. In other words, all these antics will be forgotten again, and Poland will continue to help him as before.

— Can we consider this as an attempt to flirt with nationalist forces, which are represented today, including in the form of separate units within the army? To what extent can such steps be related to domestic political interests and the desire to retain power?

"Perhaps so. But at the same time, we need to look at the situation objectively: today there is virtually no full-fledged opposition in Ukraine, and, in fact, there is no real alternative for voters.

— For example, Petro Poroshenko and his political bloc?

— This is not the opposition, it is a regulated part of the political beau monde, which is allowed to say something. But this is not the opposition. And the opposition as such is probably becoming a thing of the past. The ruling elites, who control the electoral system and create the appearance of democracy — such a regulated democracy — will act as they need to. If Zelensky doesn't exist, there will be someone just like him. But so far there is no alternative to it, and it will be supported. So far. That's all we see and can come to.

But on the other hand, it is still necessary to convey the truth in any way and make your way to the audience, because the Western system of distributing information to people is also largely regulated.