the front line ignites in the Donbass, the population between concern and resignation

For the third day in a row, the clashes have redoubled their intensity in the Donbass, where the bombardments experienced their highest level of intensity for several years on Saturday. This deterioration of the situation comes as diplomatic discussions have stalled, the US administration expects a Russian attack any day, and Germany and France are asking their nationals to leave the country. ‘Ukraine. Meanwhile, the populations of eastern Ukraine are seeing the specter of all-out war return.

The level of military activity has not been so high for several years, reports this Sunday morning Stephane Siohan our special envoy in Severodonetsk, in the Lugansk region, not far from the front line. And this observation is confirmed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the OSCE, which recorded almost 2,000 violations of the ceasefire just yesterday, which is twice more than on Friday, and from the memory of a correspondent, we have not seen such bombardments in the Donbass since 2017. The most affected area is in the northwestern part of the Lugansk region, about 20 kilometers southeast of the city of Severodonetsk precisely, controlled by Kiev forces.

The OSCE, a “key role” of observer in Ukraine

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is regularly cited in articles covering the conflict. It has exercised a monitoring mission since the beginning of the conflict in 2014 (annexation of Crimea by Russia in March 2014 and tensions in the eastern part of Ukraine) then to ensure the application of minsk agreements of 2015. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, paid tribute on Saturday February 19 to the work of the OSCE, whose observers play a “key role” in verifying what is happening on the ground in a context of manipulation of information to justify a military escalation according to the West, as the backdated videos of separatist leaders or the accusations of genocide on the population of eastern Ukraine. ” The European Union is extremely concerned that staged events could be used as a pretext for a possible military escalation “said Josep Borrell in a press release.

Our correspondent in Ukraine was able to visit the small town of Schastya on Saturday, a town that saw fierce fighting in 2014 and 2015. It had been five years since the town had been bombarded, and when it s There, pro-Russian separatist forces fired 152mm shells at Ukrainian positions near the town, he said. In general, it is the entire front line that ignites. Last night, heavy artillery exchanges resonated in the heart of Donetsk, the separatist capital, and in the Donbass, there are inevitably fears of a runaway in the hours or days to come.


A map of the buffer zone established by the Minsk Protocol during the Donbass war between Ukraine and the pro-Russian separatists.  Dombask region in green.

Tiredness of the inhabitants

As for the state of mind of the inhabitants he met, our special correspondent in Severodonetsk – who has been covering the Donbass war since its beginnings in 2014 – was able to observe a mixture of real concern, a form of apathy, but also an extreme resilience on the part of the inhabitants of the region.

Eastern Ukrainians have been struggling with this war for eight years now, the bombings are nothing new to them. His impression is that while Europe’s cardiometer is racing, the locals are showing great placidity. No panic, the shops are open, the cafes in Severodonetsk are full on Saturday evening, but when you take the time to chat with them, all the inhabitants say it: they experience an abyssal weariness and wonder when they are finally going to be able to live in peace. And the latest news, it’s not for tomorrow.

Two soldiers killed, a minister escapes shelling

Sign of the upsurge in violence, mortar shells exploded near the Ukrainian Minister of the Interior, Denys Monastyrsky, during his trip to the front line on Saturday. The incident caused no injuries and the minister, wearing a bulletproof vest and a helmet, later estimated that it was the Ukrainian army, and not him personally, who was targeted. The minister wanted to demonstrate to journalists the level of preparation of the Ukrainian army by showing them around the trenches.

The Ukrainian army has also reported two soldiers killed and four others wounded in the bombardments on Saturday, the worst daily toll in months. One of them, Anton Sydorov, a 35-year-old captain and father of three, was killed in the morning by a burst of artillery missile near Novolouganské. “ The situation is even worse than yesterday […] It shoots with prohibited weapons, 152 mm caliber shells fell near the city “says a 26-year-old Ukrainian soldier posted near this town. This town, just three kilometers from the separatist positions, is one of those gray areas located in the middle of no man’s land.

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