Particularly intense diplomatic activity this weekend. Russian President Vladimir Putin called accusations against Russia of an imminent invasion of Ukraine “provocative speculation” during an interview with his counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, on Saturday February 12, according to a statement from the Kremlin. The Kremlin also considers that these accusations create “the preconditions for possible aggressive actions by Ukrainian forces in the Donbass”, a region in eastern Ukraine where Russia has supported armed separatists for eight years. In the south of Russia and in the Donbass, a precarious calm reigns in a palpable tension;
On the Russian road along the Sea of Azov, there are many military transport trucks, without tarpaulins, very visible. Military exercises started a few days ago; around a bend, stuck in the mud of a forest road, a handful of tanks: look at thissaid the taxi driver, these are really serious “. This man who regularly travels between Russia and the Donbass knows what he is talking about, he who fled the 2014 war before returning to his native land in Donetsk.
Within range of snipers
In the capital of this self-proclaimed Republic, there are still many windows replaced by boxes: no need to repair, they are within shooting range of snipers. Shrapnel even on the walls of buildings in the city center, almost empty neighborhoods near the front line; conflict is everywhere. After its violent phase eight years ago, here is this strange climate today with the specter of a return to open conflict.
The traumas go up quickly
Some call for a confrontation: It doesn’t matter how they say but we gotta get out of this situation “. But more often than not, the traumas come to the surface very quickly: the bombardments, the death that lurks…” I don’t want it to start again is the phrase that comes up most often. “ With every threatening statement, I’m scaredadmits another, I try to live and not think about it, but it’s hard “.
► Read also: In Donbass, the weariness of the inhabitants of Donetsk after years of conflict