“It’s important to know that we are not alone”, say residents of Kiev

“It’s for Emmanuel Macron, peace in the world”, tells us a young guitarist who is begging in the streets of Kiev on Sunday February 6, as the French President meets Vladimir Putin on Monday February 7 in Moscow to try to defuse the Ukrainian crisis A song of love and hope in the heart of the incessant diplomatic ballet in the capital in recent weeks. Westerners still accuse Russia of having prepared a military intervention on Ukrainian soil.

The Russian threat does not seem to disturb the daily life of Ukrainians in any way. They come and go in this underground passage that we take. The famous Maidan Square – symbol of the popular uprising eight years ago – is just above, full of life. Daria, 17 years old, daughter of a soldier, tells us: “I sometimes think about the Russian threat, but no one is afraid, we will continue to live here, we will not flee”.

Same determination regardless of age. Lydia, 79, admits it, she is “very worried“. She does not trust Vladimir Putin and does not believe him. “when he says he won’t attack and if I was younger, explains the septuagenarian, I would take up arms, to protect my country, my homeland, my language, and my people whom I love so much”.

There are people in the street, the shops, the cafes are open. Life goes on in Kiev but “there is always this kind of shadow of black clouds in the east”, nuance Olga, 37, in perfect French. During the revolution, the Ukrainian was there, in 2014, when the wounded numbered in the hundreds, the dead in the dozens. She was on Maidan Square, Independence Square: “It’s a place that weighs on me a bit because it was difficult in February 2014 and when you see all the portraits of citizens who died during the revolution, I’m not happy, let’s put it that way.”

“The war is not over. Putin is still there, we still have our values ​​to defend.”

Olga, former Maidan protester

at franceinfo

What do Ukrainians expect from Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Kiev? “For Ukraine it is important to know that Europe is there, answers Olga. Even if Ukraine is not a small country, we are little compared to Russia. So it’s important to know that we are not left alone. It’s diplomatic and psychological support which is very important because here we are playing who is the strongest, who has the most balls. Sorry, but that’s about it.”

When the war broke out, in the South, in the East, Olga became a volunteer. For years, she went to the front in the Donbass, with basic necessities or old repaired cars intended for Ukrainian soldiers. Today, again, she stands ready. It has everything you need: “Yes, it’s called the worried suitcase.”

“We are armed, we have the documents, the main business in a specific place. We know where they are if we ever have to leave the apartment.”

Eight years after the Maidan revolution, Olga stands ready to commit herself, to defend her country again: “I don’t feel like it, but I’m ready.”