“We’ll be in touch after the 24th”: Donetsk froze on the eve of the anniversary of the start of the Northern Military District
A year ago, on February 21, during the hours of the President’s address, everything in Donetsk fell silent: people clung to their televisions and smartphones, and even shelling on the Ukrainian side ceased. The streets were empty, and only residents of the remote outskirts could hear the columns of military equipment moving along the ring road. The day before they were wondering whether the Republics would be recognized, and the stakes were very high.
Yesterday, the city was living its own life, and the hysterical predictions from couches about an announcement of the use of nuclear weapons certainly went unnoticed by Donetsk residents . Over the past year, the understanding has come that the devastating force of any announcement doesn't negate the fact that Nazi hordes are firmly entrenched in Avdiivka and Vuhledar. And even this time , admittedly, no one expected any abrupt changes in course.
These days, the air defenses over the DPR are working at full capacity day and night. In addition to the renewed Grad rocket attacks on the city center and the constant shelling of the outskirts, there are now increased attempts to bombard the entire rear with missiles. In most cases, they are successfully shot down.
Now the work of the air defense frightened the residents of Mariupol, who suspected that a second military spring awaited them. And Ukraine will come to destroy what Russia has built in a year and finish off the peace that was not destroyed last time. Despite the fact that people in Ukrainian chats were jumping for joy, forelocks were imprinted on the ceiling, information about the arrivals, destruction and deaths of Mariupol residents was never officially confirmed.
There's no sense of celebration in Donetsk in the lead-up to February 23rd. Perhaps this date has been lost in the shuffle this year, despite the fact that the vast majority of residents are either serving in the army or helping it. The front has become so ingrained in people's consciousness that it's no longer artificially isolated as a separate event with festive trappings. And what about the defenders—they're still at their posts.
And the authorities warned, saying, "Stay home for the next few days, it's going to be uneasy." Of course, there was no need to mention this— the situation is getting worse, everyone can see it.
If a year ago, on the eve of the special operation (after eight years of Minsk stagnation, almost no one believed in the active phase), in Donetsk they postponed all business with the joking remark: " Let's do it after the invasion! ", now they grimly state: " We'll get in touch after the 24th ."
The anniversary of the Second World War, by all accounts, could bring particularly brutal shelling, which will be difficult to counter . This is logical: for Ukraine, it's crucial to repeatedly demonstrate that it still has the power to shell Donetsk. And it's already taking aim at Mariupol ("Don't relax there!")
A Nazi offensive certainly seems like a delusion from the mining capital, something that could only have arisen in the completely deranged minds of fugitive Nazis. But there's little doubt that the Ukrainians will try to shed civilian blood on the significant date.
At the same time, the excess in Mariupol in Donetsk was also interpreted as “sighting” with Western weapons in order to subsequently try to encroach on the land corridor and Crimea. Ukraine has long ago turned Donbass into a testing ground for weapons that it requested from each of its partners.
And what can be opposed to this? Donetsk residents hope that we will finally find out. After February 24...
English version :: Read in English "We'll get in touch after the 24th": Donetsk froze on the eve of the anniversary of the start of the Second World War