Visit of a former Minister of Defence, osoldiers’ funeral… There is no day or night for Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy, who has been on deck around the clock for three weeks. Marta, his collaborator, confides in French: “We are there every day, even on weekends. It’s really an emergency.”
The aedile adds:I have no more tears. The last Russian attack a week ago killed 35 of our soldiers. I speak with the parents, especially the fathers. When you chat with them, you feel that they are proud that their child gave his life for Ukraine, it has never happened before. In this war, there are 40 million combatants, the country is an army. We are invincible.“
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The great concern of the mayor of Lviv is, he says, this war which is approaching the west of Ukraine and therefore Europe. “Lviv will fight back and they are preparing for ithe said.I am optimistic, I believe in my fellow citizens, in Ukraine and in our victory. Our city is ready, there are territorial defense brigades, a well-established security system, but you know, the Russians have thousands of rockets, it’s difficult to stop them all.“
Andriy Sadovy said to be in permanent contact with the French Embassy. He takes advantage of this interview to send, in English, a frank and direct message to Emmanuel Macron: “The French president now has a great responsibility on his shoulders for the future of France, Europe and the world. Every hour that passes, without a no-fly zone, Ukrainian citizens are dying. And these deaths will be on his conscience.”
War in Ukraine: listen to the message from the mayor of Lviv to Emmanuel Macron. The report by Sandrine Etoa-Andegue and Fabien Gosset
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There is an urgent need to act in the face of the refugee crisis, also warns the mayor of Lviv. 200,000 people have arrived in his town since the beginning of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, mainly by train and car. It is as if a new small town had been created in the city of almost a million inhabitants a few kilometers from the border with Poland.
“There is a big problem with cars in the center of town. This is a big disadvantage for the cars of humanitarian aid or medical services which have to pass quickly: they cannot“, slips Marta, collaborator of the mayor.
Today, almost all city spending is frozen. “The priority is the reception of refugees“, details Andriy Sadovy. “First, we have to find them something to eat, get warm. it’s a big expense for us, about a million dollars a day. In addition, we have to manage all the logistics, to house them, to grant them medical aid… All this was not organized in six months but in two weeks, it was very fast but for the moment, everything is working well. .“, he concludes.
From the small municipal theater to the large stadium on the outskirts, 500 reception centers have been opened for these displaced persons. But if the war continues, the city will quickly reach its limits.