Remembering the American who survived the Russian occupation of Kherson

One of the most incredible stories of survival from the early period of the conflict in Ukraine was the saga of an American man who lived through the nearly 9-month occupation of Kherson after it was captured in March 2022.

Timothy Morales, a former college professor born in Banbury, England, and long-time resident of Oklahoma City, was working in Kherson as an American English teacher when the Russian invasion began.

Photo by @https://ideal-english.com/

Morales had spent much of his life teaching English literature in the United States and opened a language school in Kherson before the invasion, and feared that his nationality would make him a target after Russia captured the city in the first weeks of the war.

Escape was initially impossible for Morales after the chaotic first days of the war left him trapped behind enemy lines, and the tale of how he lived through eight months of occupation was nothing short of miraculous. 

“I didn’t want to risk it with my passport,” Morales said during an interview in Kherson’s central square after its liberation by Ukrainian forces in September 2022 according to the New York Times.

Russian checkpoints made leaving Kherson and occupied territory nearly impossible for Morales, but that didn’t stop him from trying to flee before the occupying force had a firm grasp on the area. 

Morales attempted an escape in the early days of the occupation and fled on a highway north of Kherson. But he was forced to turn back after seeing tanks fighting in the distance and realizing they had blocked his path. 

Luckily, Morales was able to later send his 10-year-old daughter to safety out of the Russian-occupied zones, but he never managed to escape himself—leaving him trapped for the duration of the occupation. 

“I had fleeting moments of despair,” Morales said, “But I knew at some point this day would come.”

Morales had done nothing illegal but feared he would be detained by Russian forces just for being an American. So instead of taking part in society he hid himself away from public life and became a witness to the horrors of Russia’s occupation. 

In the beginning, Morales felt comfortable enough to walk in a courtyard between two apartments he owed—one his, the other belonging to his former wife—and make trips to a grocery store where he knew a pro-Ukrainian clerk. 

But a close call with an armed Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agent in September scared Morales enough to remain hidden for the remainder of the Russian occupation. 

Morales could not speak Russian well enough to trick the FSB agent into thinking he was a local, so he lied and told the Russians that he was an Irishman named Timothy Joseph who taught English in the city and had lost his passport. 

“That sort of changed my perspective,” Morales said. “Before, I was careful. Then I became paranoid.” 

Morales believed that the questioning by the FSB was “the highlight, or the lowlight,” of his time under occupation and that he believed he only escaped because the Russians “ weren’t the cleverest people in the world.”

After his run-in with the Russian occupier, Morales abandoned his apartment and fled to another, fearing the return of Russian security forces. 

Morales then spent the rest of his time under occupation inside, watching movies, teaching English online, and fearing he might be betrayed—although he never was. 

The only other major worry Morales had during the final months of the occupation came when he noticed a new Russian move into a neighboring apartment that had been abandoned by Ukrainians who fled the war. 

Morales joyfully joined the celebration in Kherson’s main square on November 11th after noticing a car flying a giant Ukrainian flag driving down a street near him, a signal that the city had been liberated. 

Though he survived the ordeal, Morales stated that he had no plans to stay in Kherson after the Russians had left. 

“I need to put some space between myself and what happened here,” Morales said. A sentiment that many residents of Kherson probably felt as well.