The Press in Ukraine | Foray into the heart of the resistance in the Donbass

Since the beginning of the second phase of the conflict, Lyssytchansk, in the Donbass, has been closest to the front line. One of the last pockets of resistance, where residents live cut off from the world, holed up in the basement of a half-destroyed school. Our collaborator went there.

(Lyssytchansk) “We just want it all to stop”

Appearances can be deceiving. About ten kilometers before Lyssytchansk, the bumpy road between Artemivsk and Berestove seems very calm. It’s the beginning of spring, the weather is nice, on both sides of the road, tractors plow the land as if nothing had happened.

” These people take huge risks. But they won’t stop until the Russians force them to. Take care of their land, feed the country, it’s their own war »observes the driver Olexy, a volunteer from Sloviansk, who transports equipment for the military on the front.

The road is indeed more perilous than it seems. A few kilometers further, in the opposite direction, a procession of ambulances and cars with shattered windows passes at full speed. Further on, the charred remains of cars obstruct the road. It’s all that’s left of one checkpoint Ukrainian, targeted by the Russian army a few days earlier. On the way back, a few hours later, the cars are again on fire. “It was bombed again less than an hour ago,” confirmed a soldier.

Since the start of the second phase of the conflict, which corresponds to the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Kyiv region and then the retreat in the Kharkiv region, Russian forces have redeployed massively in the Donbass, which they have transformed into “hell “Lamented Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video message broadcast overnight from Thursday to Friday.

The industrial cities of Lyssytchansk and Sievierodonetsk form the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the Luhansk region. A decisive step for the Russians before the next military objective that could constitute the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

” Like before “

Near an old completely destroyed garage, a few residents cycle despite the intense bombardments in the twin town of Sievierodonetsk. In the distance, thick black smoke rises from the Lissytchansk oil refinery, regularly targeted by Russian artillery in mid-April.

Today, there are only 8,000 to 10,000 inhabitants left of the 100,000 that this city had before the war. Tatiana, a woman in her fifties, approaches, visibly agitated: “I listened to Russian radio today, it’s the only one that passes here. They say that Toshkivka was taken by the Russians, is that true? Do you know if I can stay in town today? she asks.

Tatiana hands a soldier some hastily scribbled phone numbers on a piece of paper. It is the only way for these inhabitants, who have been living cut off from the world for weeks, to warn their loved ones that they are still alive. Water, electricity, gasoline are all commodities almost impossible to find in Lysytchansk.

A little further, Vera, 53, takes advantage of the calm to take some fresh air in front of her building. “I had a stroke, I just wish the clinics would reopen. I thought about leaving town for a while, but I can barely walk, the left side of my body is paralyzed from my accident. We just want all this to stop, for things to go back to the way they were. Peace, calm…”

Peace, alas, is not for now, if we are to believe the soldiers who are fighting on the outskirts of Lyssytchansk.

“The situation is difficult”

The day before, the village of Rubizhne, about twenty kilometers away, fell into the hands of the Russians. “We no longer had the strength to hold the city. We had to fall back to Sievierodonetsk. The risk is that they continue to advance and that they manage to surround us, ”explains Roman, an exhausted officer, present the day before during the final assault in Rubizhne.

“Spartac” commands a battalion of 350 people. He notes a shortage of means of transport, of maneuverable vehicles such as vans, many of which were destroyed by Russian artillery. “The situation is difficult at the moment. The enemy is bombarding with everything they can. They attack from the west, north and east. We are defending from the banks of the Donets River,” he explains.

According to him, the Russian army would lose about fifty fighters every day on this front. He is careful not to mention the losses on the Ukrainian side. “The enemy is using Mariupol tactics. He just levels the whole infrastructure with artillery. We are forced to retreat to new frontiers to defend ourselves. »

Buried in a basement

A few blocks away, the damp basement of a school is home to a hundred residents of all ages in extremely precarious conditions. Some have taken refuge here since the end of March, driven from their homes by the bombardments. Without electricity or running water, they light each other up with mobile phones or candles.

Thin mattresses have been installed on wooden pallets. A few sprigs of lilac scattered here and there are a reminder that sunny days are coming back. A few children are playing on the forecourt of the establishment while a group of elderly women are chatting near a wood fire. The upper floors were bombed.

“It fell on March 8, during the [Journée internationale des femmes], we could not have imagined worse! manages to joke one of the residents. “At the beginning, we received food and humanitarian aid regularly. But in recent weeks, the fighting has been more violent, there are not many people to help us,” notes Tatiana, 50, bitterly. “It’s war, what can we do about it?” »