Is Severodonetsk a pro-Russian city?

For several days, ithis city of Donbass, gradually taken overe by the troops of Moscow, is however the target for several days Russian bombings. This cheerful welcome can be explained​, according to Yulia Shukan​, lecturer in Slavic studies at the University of Paris Nanterre, by the evacuation of the most pro-Ukraine citizens during the months of March and April. Today, only 15% of the population remains in Severodonetsk. If some cannot move, others do not want to or are openly pro-Russian.

There remains, for the majority of the rather old remaining population, a nostalgia for the Soviet Union according to Yulia Shukan: “I think it’s this nostalgia, this image of Russia that is very, very distorted and moreover constructed by the Russian media as well, which explains this warm welcome”.

Thus, if the videos broadcast by the Russian media are authentic, they can be misleading. They do not reflect the majority opinion, since most of the inhabitants of this city in Donbass have fled​, for fear of fighting​, while some pro-Russians stayed put despite the war.