The authorities installed by Moscow in the Ukrainian region of Kherson indicated on Wednesday May 11 that they wanted to ask Vladimir Putin for annexation, the latest sign to date that Russia intends to conquer Ukrainian lands. In Mariupol, on May 9, the date on which Russia commemorates the end of the Second World War, “the great patriotic war”, we also celebrated the anniversary of the independence of this republic. Report on the improvised market on the right bank of Mariupol, a city now, with the exception of the Azovstal factory, under the control of pro-Russian forces.
With our special correspondent Anissa El Jabri
Clothes, oil, cigarettes, vodka, a few vegetables and for the past two weeks, one of the staples of the diet here: sausage. Money, almost no one has it, but we still try to haggle while laughing: ” Come on sell me that sausage for 50, said a woman. I wasn’t your teacher for nothing! And now the teacher has no more money. The saleswoman is all smiles and says she now works 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In these alleys, in the middle of the destroyed buildings, a handful of inhabitants with ribbons of Saint-Georges pinned on the chest, orange and black. For several years now, they have marked the attachment to Russian May 9. ” We have always celebrated May 9, says another woman. Not on May 8 like the Ukrainians but on May 9. Why are we wearing this ribbon too today? Well, because it’s Donetsk Republic Day. In fact, my family and I have been wearing these ribbons for two weeks now, and we have no intention of taking them off. »
Residents scarred by the fighting
Suddenly, two men turn around in full view of the press. Thirties, they are both called Vova. One of them has half of his face puffy and lacerated by recent scars. An injury related to missile shrapnel: “ Personally, I think I’m losing my mind, I’m still in shock. Sorry but did you see what happened to my face? I don’t have an apartment, my house burned down, my father died. I have nothing, nowhere to live. Mariupol, my beloved city, was destroyed. I’m really not in the mood to celebrate anything. »
Several hundred meters further, the distribution of other ribbons and small flags white blue red, color of Russia, black blue red, color of the self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk, continues. Some avenues are completely paved with them.