Residents on the front line do not expect much change in the Donbas

The shelling killed her neighbor, Romani, while she was working about 20 meters from the door of her house.

“We just want to stop. This is all“, Said Artyoma, 75, who before retiring had worked as a secretary and teacher in a school. She had been in the kitchen giving her diabetic husband an insulin injection when shelling began, which was the heaviest in at least the last five years.

The eight-year war in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas, where Novoluhanske is located, has entered a dangerous new phase, following the announcement on February 21 by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Moscow has recognized Russian-backed separatist claims of independence. who control parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces.

Putin also prepared to send Russian troops to the region, officially this time, as so far Moscow has denied sending troops to the Donbas, despite much evidence of Russian involvement in the war that has left over 13,200 people died.

On February 21, he said Russia recognized the separatists’ claims to the two provinces in their entirety, deepening concerns that the Russians could soon reach cities like Novolohansk, which are on the side of the “control line” controlled by the government. Ukrainian.

Putin’s announcement and his hostile speech also added to fears that Russia – which, according to US officials, has amassed up to 190,000 troops near Ukraine, in Russian-controlled Crimea and in the Donbas – could launch an invasion at any time. of large scale.

Putin’s decision is preceded by days of intensifying gunfire and shelling along the control line.

To many in Kiev and the West, Putin’s words and actions appear to be a declaration of war against Ukraine. For Artyomovan, and others trying to maintain the appearance of normalcy in their lives in Donbas, Russia’s recognition of the separatists’ claims is the latest offensive in a long series of political insults involving a barrage of bad news. the importance of which have often been less important than the immediate concerns of daily life.

“Obviously, we want Russia and Ukraine to go well together,” she said, as the sound of artillery fire echoed from the front line, about seven kilometers away.

But will Putin’s announcement change anything? “I do not know,” she said. “Will there be tanks?” I do not know. “All I know is the shelling, it was scary, extremely scary.”

Residents of the eastern regions of Ukraine fleeing their homes. February 19, 2022.
In the adjoining yard, where Maria’s neighbor Romani, 74-year-old Raisa Andriyonova, was killed, she was sweeping away pieces of glass and scrap metal as workers came and laid plywood on the broken glass in the surrounding buildings.

Andriyonova said she does not expect anything good to come out of the latest developments.

“Anything that stops this madness: this is a good thing,” she said, adding: “I do not think [Putin] really knows what you are doing. “He is already old.”

Several neighborhoods further south, on the outskirts of Novoluhansk, an abandoned warehouse of agricultural equipment, is being used for an infantry unit, which are located opposite a number of separatist positions. For this reason, this neighborhood is constantly the target of heavy shelling.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during the visit of Ukrainian troops, as they participated in a military exercise in the Rivne region on February 16, 2022.

The commander of the unit, Anatoliy, who was deployed in this position about seven months ago, said the mortar fire is significantly heavier in recent days. Asked if anything had changed after Putin’s announcement, he shrugged.

“Well, no,” he said, “in fact, the situation was less tense before the announcement.” There have been mortar shells in the past, but according to him, “only that they have never targeted civilians here.”

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