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One of the France Télévisions teams was able to go to Ukrainian towns controlled by the Russian army. Moscow wants to show that it helps the population, for example by distributing passports. But the economy is struggling to recover.
When it accompanies foreign journalists into the Ukrainian territories under its control, the Russian army leaves nothing to chance, whether in the security of the premises or what it wishes to show. To Berdyansk (Ukraine)under the portrait of Vladimir Putin recently hung on the wall, Ukrainians receive Russian passports. In this city located in the very south of Ukraine, Moscow has already distributed 2,500 passports, as if to show that the Russians will be there for a long time.
Many of those affected are retirees. For three months, the Ukrainian government has been unable to pay their pensions, so Russia has promised them that the payments will resume. Wherever the Kremlin takes journalists, she wants to show that she is helping southern Ukraine to rebuild itself. To Mariupol (Ukraine)Russia finances the construction of some buildings. However, despite communication from Moscow, the regions under Russian control are far from returning to normal life. A mine of Donbass thus turns to slowed down, because a third of the miners are at the front and spare parts are no longer arriving.