As Russian bombs continue to fall in eastern Ukraine, some Ukrainian soldiers manage to get leaves and allow themselves a few quiet hours on the beach of Lake Sloviansk.
A beach on the edge of a lake, ice cream sellers… And the sounds of bombs far behind. Leaves are welcome for Ukrainian soldiers, who enjoy a few hours of respite at “La Petite Cuba” in Sloviansk, eastern Ukraine.
>>> War in Ukraine: Russia still encourages tourism in annexed Crimea, despite the risks
:quality(50)/2023/07/20/64b941ecbac7d_sur-la-plage-de-la-petite-cuba-les-habitants-de-sloviansk-viennent-oublier-la-guerre-photo-gilles-gallinaro.jpg)
Lying on his deckchair, Dmitri is already red with sunburn, he is enjoying his second and last day of leave: ” We live, we enjoy! We picked up packages, we went to the sauna…“. Above all, he rediscovered the taste for good things, baked potatoes, escalopes, “the borscht, the salad…, but the day goes by so quickly that you don’t have enough time to do everything“. In this setting, only one thing is missing, ” victory !“.
>>> REPORT “In front of us, there are forces in very large quantities”: Ukrainian soldiers recount the counter-offensive in the East
The lake and its air of seaside resort are only a parenthesis. The new life of Dmitri, a volunteer, is what happens on the front line: “Survival is the first thing for us there, because we are right on the zero line. The Russians are 380 meters from us, to be precise“.
:quality(50)/2023/07/20/64b94021b8567_tous-les-combats-laissent-une-trace-c-est-impossible-d-effacer-ca-en-deux-jours-de-permission-dit-viktor-photo-gilles-gallinaro.jpg)
Between two families who have spread out their towels and taken out the buoys, another soldier with a military medal around his neck, a large tattoo on his chest. ” All fights leave a marksays Victor, I think it’s impossible to erase this in two days“. Even by the lake, it is difficult to feel carefree: “Physically it’s very hard, but I would say that it’s rather morally that it’s the most difficult”.
:quality(50)/2023/07/20/64b94141b05a6_dmitri-et-andrei-militaires-en-permission-profitent-de-la-plage-du-lac-et-du-soleil-pres-de-sloviansk.jpeg)
“The guys can’t take it anymore, they’re exhausted“, supports Andrei. For him, this war which does not end damages the men: “They must be replaced. It’s very hard for those who have been at the front from the start“. He feels that these permissions are too short and too rare. “Everyone has their family waiting for them, everyone wants to see them. Some haven’t seen her for six months, it depends if you’re in the small papers of the command“, he laments.
A soldier then approaches to ask him to stop talking to journalists. Andrei puts his sunglasses back on and lies back, his fatigues neatly folded on the sand. In a few hours, he returns to the war.
A few hours of leave for Ukrainian soldiers: report by Isabelle Labeyrie and Gilles Gallinaro