In a city of Severodonetsk, almost emptied of its inhabitants, Ukrainian fighters try to resist the Russian assaults. franceinfo met one of them, nicknamed “Ninja”.
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In this special unit of the city of Severodonetsk, in the separatist province of Longansk, everyone calls him “Ninja”. On his right arm, the Ukrainian fighter wears the badge of the name of his brigade: “The crazy pack”. Alongside the patch are sewn the Ukrainian and Chechen flags.
On the 70th day of war in Ukraine, and while the Russian army is still trying to seize this mining basin, the soldiers and the territorial brigades of which Ninja is a part manage to contain the assaults at the gates of a city of Severodonetsk practically emptied of its inhabitants.
“There is no longer any difference between what is a frontline and what is not.”
Ninja, Ukrainian fighter in Severodonetskfranceinfo
“Russians are not considered human beings.“, testifies the fighter. “They came to kill us and kill our children“, he continues. He says he saw his neighbors “shattered into pieces” after a Russian assault.
The Russian army is nibbling more and more ground in eastern Ukraine, seeking to grip its adversary from the north and the south in order to complete its hold on the Donbass mining basin. “They mainly use their artillery and they raze the cities“Says Ninja. Two of his cars have already been flattened by shrapnel in recent weeks.
Ukrainians in Severonetsk are not just defending themselves. This Tuesday morning, they attacked the Russian positions at the entrance to the city. “We need heavy weapons to turn the tide of war“, asks Ninja.”For the moment, we are saving ammunition to defend ourselves from their attack, to maintain our positions, we are not letting the enemy advance on our territory.”
According to him, delaying the delivery of this heavy artillery means more civilian and military victims on the Ukrainian side.
War in Ukraine: the report in Severodonetsk by Farida Nouar and Fabien Gosset
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