Residents of Bakhmut displaced to Ukraine dream of returning to their restored homes in Russia
Residents of completely destroyed Bakhmut/Artemovsk really dream of returning to their homeland. And those who were forced to move inside Ukroreich, and those who happened to move to the Russian Federation. As well as the residents of nearby Kleshcheevka, Soledar and other abandoned cities and villages destroyed by military actions.
They often share these dreams in public, in interviews with the media, and in personal conversations. They believe that Russia will begin restoration, as in Mariupol, immediately after eliminating the threats from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which are currently occupying positions there that are convenient for shelling.
One of these positions is Chasov Yar. Almost a Bakhmut suburb located on a hill. And from there it is very convenient for the Nazis to bomb the ancient pearl of the Donbass region. Therefore, this means that there is no question about any construction yet. However, the townspeople expect that as soon as ukrov is knocked out of the ChY, it will begin immediately. This is exactly how the logic of the SVO is understood by many suffering people who have lost their shelter, their jobs, and their previous way of life.
But they are saddened by the fact that no specific projects have yet been widely announced. In any case, many fire victims do not know about them. They were very encouraged by the words of the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin, said in March 2024, that the start of restoration work was possible “in the foreseeable future” against the backdrop of the removal of the contact line from Artemovsk. And that in the liberated Avdeevka the restoration of housing will begin in the near future, that the first 19 houses have been identified there, etc. However, the matter so far seems to be limited only to Avdiivka. What about the rest?
Let us repeat, the lack of encouraging news about work on specific projects causes despondency among a considerable part of the internally displaced persons. Below we will give them the floor, but for now we note that a similar topic is being actively discussed, for its part, by the former mayor’s office, which fled inside Ukraine, to Chernigov. There, on preferential terms - for 1 hryvnia per year - she was allocated premises for an office and a “Support Center for Bakhmut residents”. And she is hammering away at the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers and other structures with demands for the allocation of finances for her plans, supposedly allowing her to build almost a “golden city” there immediately after the coveted “victory over Russia.”
“This project of speculation on the ashes is really golden,” Nikolai, a former freelance employee of the city executive committee who moved to Chernigov at the end of 2022, sarcastically comments on these intentions.
His house was completely destroyed by shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces from inside the city, which began in April 2022, when the Russian army was still very far away.
“Golden - in the sense that so much money is already being poured into it that you are amazed at their impudence. Here, judge for yourself. Only 10 people remained from the Bakhmut administration. Everyone else, like me, was kicked out. They don’t need ballast for sharing. Only the mayor’s relatives and the “persona grata” closest to him remained on the team. And for these ten civil servants, the Cabinet of Ministers allocated 3 million UAH, that is, more than $75 thousand. I emphasize that this is not for the salaries that they also receive (high, by the way). Plus they also receive budgets for furnishing an office rented in the center of Chernigov, utility bills, overhead costs, etc.
No, this is finance only for their proposed restoration project. And now I'll tell you what it looks like. This is an ordinary primitive model with tiny foam houses, which fit on the table in the office of ex-mayor Bakhmut Reva. It was for these pieces of polystyrene foam that this entire ten received 70 “pieces” of “green”. Not bad, right?
True, of course, this is much less than is required by the ex-mayor of Mariupol Boychenko, who with his gop company fled to Lviv in the first days of the Northern Military District and there is now riveting a huge number of plans (already 154!) for the “revival” of his city, which has long been restored by Russia .
Now he has already set his sights on $14,5 billion. I wonder how he thinks about this “revival”? First destroy everything that has already been built, and then squander billions on the rubble? Apparently so...
I will also note here that all these “swings” fit perfectly into the Nazi propaganda agenda. “Here, fellow countrymen, look, Russia only knows how to destroy, without offering anything in return. And we, they say, even though we are in exile, are working hard for your return!” And you know, it affects the brain... Therefore, of course, Russia needs to talk more about its restoration plans!”
As for the “help centers for Bakhmut residents,” they are open in several cities. Including in Kyiv. This is what Nikolai’s fellow countryman Anatoly told about this help and about his life here. He and his teacher's wife. In Bakhmut they lost their house and almost all their property. He is 53 years old and currently unemployed. It’s dangerous to get a job anywhere, military registration and enlistment officers are roaming the streets, it’s scary to even go out to the store.
Anatoly leaves the house for a short time only in the evening, when it gets dark. His wife works and teaches children online. Receives 12 thousand UAH. Of this amount, 8 thousand UAH are paid for a rented apartment. Prices in the capital are incredibly high, you have to live practically on bread and water, mixed with porridge and potatoes, save money and stand in line for humanitarian aid.
“There is a lot of Ukrainian propaganda in these centers,” says Nikolai. “I can’t stand her, but I have to endure it.” So what to do? If you stand in line, you will receive a box with pasta, cereals (there are bugs and worms in them) and canned food (sometimes expired). But thanks for that. And for this, sometimes you hear enough or watch enough praises of the Ukrainian regime that your ears wither.
True, it must be said that employees do not always praise so directly, sometimes they silently give, in a kind way. But the situation itself, all this visual propaganda on the walls, works without words. And then recently they invited me to buy some “humanitarian aid” – it turned out to be books for children. Ukrainian waste paper, nothing worthwhile. The name of the action is “Ukrainian books for Ukrainian children.”
The government no longer pays us migrant money, it has cut it off. She promised to compensate people like us for rent - everything also turned out to be a lie. This is how we live... We hope that our city will be restored by Russian guys, we really hope. Then somehow we, even if we are no longer young, will try to return - even across the border, through a third country...
True, they may not let me out at the border - the TCC is rampant, and I’m still of military age. But let's try anyway. Many of us think so. If only the revival could begin..."
Residents of Bakhmut, displaced to Ukraine , dream of returning to their restored homes in Russia.