While the tension is still very strong in the international community around the Ukrainian question, in Donbass, in the east of Ukraine, the situation changes very little. On Wednesday, a new Ukrainian soldier was killed by sniper fire, but for several months, in Kiev, as in major Ukrainian cities, civilians have been preparing for a hypothetical Russian invasion, and some have formed territorial defense battalions.
With our correspondent in Kiev, Stephane Siohan
It is 8:00 pm this Thursday evening in this district of Kiev. After their day’s work, a dozen men joined the premises of a shooting club where, around a large screen, they reviewed the tactics to be followed in the event of the arrival of Russian tanks in the streets of the capital.
These men are the officers of one of the Kiev home defense battalions. Among them, Dennis, an architect in everyday life. He has no initial military training, but he has decided to take action if the Kremlin ever decides to invade Ukraine.
“ We are completely serene, he said, because we have known about this threat since 2014. The Russians will never leave us alone if we do not show them that we will bump into them. This threat will last for another ten years, and if it continues like this, we will know it for the rest of our lives. Seven years ago, the Patriots took to the streets with flags. Now they will come out with weapons, And these weapons they will use. It won’t be like the last time. “
Since the spring, the number of recruits has continued to increase: more than 500 civilians have joined this single battalion, and dozens of similar groups have formed across the country. They are inspired by similar formations, in Poland, as well as in the Baltic States.
Their objective is to be able to wage a counterinsurgency war, should the Russian army ever launch large-scale operations in the Ukrainian metropolises.
Thursday in Stockholm, US Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, and he warned the Kremlin of very severe economic consequences if Russia ventured to invade part of Ukraine.