in the Donbass, residents forced to flee the fighting

Donetsk Oblast is one of the quabe regions whose annexation Vladimir Putin announced by Russiae, vFriday September 30. However, in the streets of Pokrovsk, it is the Ukrainian flag which is raised everywhere, Saturday October 1st. And its inhabitants have no intention of becoming Russ. “We want to remain Ukrainians, we are Ukrainians and we will remain so“, announces a passerby. “I don’t understand Vladimir Putin’s ideas or actions. He is disturbed“, adds a woman, while another explains that she counts on the Ukrainian troops to defend the population of the city.

While some resist, others are forced to leave. Liudmyla is sick and lives only 30 kilometers from the front line. An ambulance comes to pick her up, her and her little daughter Anna, to take them to the station of Pokrovsk, the rallying point for those leaving the region. “Of course I’m sad. I stayed as long as possible, but now it’s too dangerous“, she testifies before boarding a train that will take her to western Ukraine, safe from the fighting.