Russian forces are maintaining pressure on the front in eastern Ukraine, particularly in the Donetsk region. The Ukrainian army has deployed reinforcements in the Chassiv Iar sector to defend this strategic city on the Eastern Front, a gateway to the major mining towns of Donbass.
From our special correspondents in Kramatorsk, Anastasia Becchio And Boris Vicith
In an agricultural area at the exit of Kramatorsk, two volunteers in a minibus came to pick up Tatiana, a sixty-year-old who suffers from cataracts and who lost her sight a few days ago. She will be taken to Dnipro for treatment:
“ I am no longer independent, I can no longer prepare food, I have already burned all my fingers. It’s Lena who brings me food. I don’t want to leave, my daughter is buried here, here, I have a roof over my head and my dog. It’s been pretty quiet here lately. But you see, we are on the road which leads to Tchasiv Iar and in this district, we will be the first if the Russians advance on Kramatorsk. »
It’s time to leave. Lena, the neighbor, who worked on the same farm as Tatiana, will keep an eye on the dog: “ This whole situation affects morale and mental health. Today, a military plane passed overhead, my blood boiled, we were very scared, because we can never know when, or where, or how, they are going to bomb us. Of course we’re afraid. »
In the town of Kramatorsk, a plane flies overhead. At the entrance to his church, a stone’s throw from a building destroyed by a missile, Pastor Evhen Pavlenko draws his phone. “ As soon as I hear a plane, I transmit the information to this application specialized in anti-aircraft defense. In this way, we help the army. Instead of radars, we have people. I don’t know if it’s a plane Russian or Ukrainian. I passed on the information, now it’s up to them to deal with it. »
“ We live day by day »
Kramatorsk, emptied of some of its inhabitants, but occupied by numerous soldiers on rest or in transit, lives to the rhythm of air alerts, often ignored. The bomb shelters, these large concrete structures that have been installed all over the city, are used more to hide from the sun and the heat, while waiting for the bus. Ania, 39, leaves a clinic consultation with her 13-month-old baby in the stroller:
“ For now, we live day by day, hoping for the best. At the beginning, when it was bombing hard, we hid in the cellars, but now it’s calmer. So, we try to live as before. But of course, we have very different living conditions from those who live in other parts of the country. I think those who haven’t experienced this can’t understand. We had a lot of deaths. And people who haven’t seen that, they will never understand. They know, yes, that there is a war somewhere, but that’s all “.
A small café located in the basement of a deserted building: this is where Oleksij Ladyka and friends organized collections for the military in the first months of 2022. Journalist at Kramatorsk Posthe tells the daily story of life in the last major city of Donbass still controlled by the Ukrainians.
“ We don’t have as many bombings as in Kharkiv and the atmosphere is relatively calm. But it’s a bit “calm before the storm”. We understand that we could be the next target if Tchassiv Iar were to fall. So, we try to live as best as possible, perhaps our last peaceful months. » A very relative peace, with a front about twenty kilometers away
Maintain a cultural life
A few hours later, in a private house, Oleksij rehearses with friends, in preparation for a concert. There is even a French song on the program. On guitar is Serguei Savenkov, a figure in the local music scene but who had to change profession: he became an emergency vehicle driver. A work of which he says he is proud. But he misses the stage, his singer has left and in his living room transformed into a recording studio, he tries to maintain a semblance of cultural life.
“ The musicians you see here all used to play in various bands. These are fragments of what remains of the music groups. Our studio was destroyed. Part of the material is kept here, another part we will evacuate, you never know…. But I will stay until the end. The only thing that could force me to leave is the threat of our physical capture. I am a person who clearly expresses his pro-Ukrainian views, I am active in the city. If they get here, it will be good if they kill me right away. Bombing, yes, it’s scary, but not that scary, but if there’s a risk of being captured, then I’ll run away. »
In the garrison town, public gatherings are prohibited for security reasons, but the musicians still hope to find a way to soon perform in front of a real audience without putting them in danger.
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