Citizens of Ukraine, who are forced to stay in the territories temporarily occupied by Russia, are in a state of humanitarian catastrophe, Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Maliar has said.

"Due to the low purchasing power of the local population, shops, kiosks are closed, the delivery of food products and medicines to the population is almost stopped. In fact, our people, who are forced to stay in the temporarily occupied territories, are in a state of humanitarian catastrophe," Maliar said at a briefing at the Military Media Center on Thursday.

According to her, in the settlements of Kherson region, the enemy equips artillery firing positions directly in residential buildings, destroying the houses of Ukrainians.

"In the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, the Russian invaders continue to artificially create conditions under which the local population is forced to leave their homes. In particular, in the settlements of Kherson region, the enemy equips artillery firing positions directly in residential buildings and carries out engineering and fortification work, destroying the private houses of our citizens," Maliar said.

The deputy minister said in order to exclude the possibility of access to reliable information, the invaders are destroying the communication infrastructure, in particular, in the temporarily occupied territories, they are dismantling elements of the mobile equipment system and seizing Wi-Fi routers, thanks to which local residents had access to alternative sources of information.

It was also established that the invaders plundered Kherson Regional Art Museum and took away not only valuable exhibits, but also ordinary household items.

"All office equipment, as well as archival materials, including documents of the 18th-19th centuries, were removed from the state archive of Kherson region," Maliar said.