The mayor of Dnipro in eastern Ukraine is calling on women, children and the elderly to leave the city. Boris Filatov also calls on the inhabitants of the Lugansk and Donetsk regions in the east, who have taken refuge in Dnipro, to go further to the west of the country. The fear is a major offensive by the Russian army in the coming days. However, no panic in the streets of Dnipro, no crowds in the station, the shops are open. As for the territorial defense of the city, it is reorganized.
With our special correspondents in Dnipro, Mary Normand and Julien Boileau
Behind piles of sandbags and tires, this local territorial defense unit has positioned its camp at a strategic crossroads at one of the exits from the city.
Every day, more and more sirens warn of possible aerial bombardments, explains the head of the unit, Volodimir Garim. But declaration of the mayor of Dnipro or not, he maintains that his men remain determined: “ We’re all going to stay. In our homes, no one will leave. This has no impact on our territorial defense. If anyone leaves, it’s the children and the elderly. »
The defense, in any case, is reorganized. Before our eyes, boxes of ammunition, rocket launchers, pass from hand to hand; material loaded onto trucks heading for another access to the city. An axis potentially more exposed to this offensive. No soldier is allowed to talk to us.
But one of them has just enough time to tell us that it is surely better for the population to follow the advice of the mayor. Before being promptly called to order by his superior.
