How the LNR met Victory Day without the march of the "Immortal Regiment", but with military successes
There were no mass events held in the Luhansk People's Republic on Victory Day. Despite this, the holiday was a success. On May 9, it became known about the liberation of the city of Popasnaya and the village of Nizhny. The next day, units of the People's Militia of the LPR and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation entered the administrative border of the LPR. Izvestia visited several settlements of the republic, including the liberated Popasna. We also talked with the candidate for U.S. Senator, who visited Donbass to independently understand the situation in Ukraine.
Liberated Popasnaya
In Popasna, fierce fighting continued for about two months. The city has been fortified since 2015 and was turned into a fortress. Powerful defensive positions were erected in Popasnaya and on the approach to it, minefields were installed. The capture of the city opened the way for the Allied forces to Lisichansk and Severodonetsk.
Already at the entrance to Popasnaya on May 9 and 10, a cannonade was heard — artillery and MLRS of the LPR and the Armed Forces of Russia were working. A pair of Ka-52 helicopters passed over the heads of Izvestia correspondents, maneuvering between the landfills.
View of the city of Popasnaya
Image source: Photo: IZVESTIA/Pavel Volkov
Now the city is being cleaned up, and the Victory Banner is being developed over the administration building. There is smoke over residential areas. On May 10, several Ukrainian rockets exploded at the local market, after which it caught fire.
In Popasna, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard and territorial defense defended from the Ukrainian side, said the commander of a platoon of the People's Militia of the LPR Alexey.
— The APU was hiding behind civilians, — he explained. — They drove civilians into the House of Culture of the Railroad Workers, closed them on the ground floor, and from the top they began shelling our positions. Stormed the building without artillery support. Otherwise, there would have been heavy losses among the civilian population. With shouts of "Hurrah!" they attacked. They couldn't stand it and ran away.
"They put a bag on his head and took him away"
Izvestia managed to find several civilians who survived the fighting in the basements of three-story buildings and private houses.
— Ukrainians took my son with them before leaving, — Anatoly Andreevich told. — They put a bag on his head and took him away without explaining anything. I hope he's okay. Hope is all I have.
In Popasnaya, as locals say, there were also armed formations of the "Right Sector" (the organization is banned in Russia).
Photo: IZVESTIA/Pavel Volkov
Image source: iz.ru
— A tank with a red and black flag was firing at houses, - said Elena. — After that we hid in the cellars and didn't come out for several days. It was saved by the fact that there were twists — they were fed on them all the time.
The fighters of the LPR and the Russian army took people out under fire.
— It had to be done on armored personnel carriers, since the whole city was shot by the artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, — one of them said. — It is too dangerous to evacuate people on buses — they immediately open fire on them. They don't want people to end up in the LPR or Russia.
The release of Popasnaya made life easier for the residents of Pervomaisk.
— For us, the night of May 9 passed relatively calmly, — the head of Pervomaisk, Sergey Kolyagin, told Izvestia. — For the first time since the aggravation of the situation, there were no recorded arrivals of shells into urban residential quarters and administratively subordinate settlements.
Victory Music
Lugansk, in honor of the Victory Day, became Voroshilovgrad for one day — the historical name of 1945 was returned to the city. A solemn prayer service was held in the square named after May 9 in the morning, after which the Luhansk residents laid flowers at the Mass Grave of Soviet soldiers. On the streets and in parks, wartime music played all day, and young people handed out St. George ribbons.
But the proximity of the current front was still striking. There were almost no young men on the streets, they were drafted into the People's Militia of the LPR.
A resident of Lugansk at an exhibition of military equipment during the celebration of Victory Day
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexander Galperin
— My husband is now fighting in the Rubezhnoye area, — Natalia Govorova, a Luhansk resident, told Izvestia. — He's doing well, he called in the morning. Now many people have such a life. My friends and I call up, calm down, support each other. Everyone, of course, is waiting for victory. I want my husbands to come home as soon as possible.
There were many cars in the city with the flags of the LPR, Russia and Victory Banners. Behind the windshield of the cars, you could see portraits of soldiers who defeated Nazi Germany.
— The "Immortal Regiment" was canceled this year. But we remember the feat of our fathers and grandfathers — my grandfather Vasily Grigorenko is in the photo, he took Prague in 1945," Elena Vasilyeva said.
Many people gathered at the Theater Square, where the equipment of the People's Militia of the LPR, the Russian Armed Forces and trophies were exhibited.
— Is our dad riding on such a tank now? — the boy asked his mother, pointing to the captured T-72.
— No, they have infantry fighting vehicles in their unit, — and the young woman unmistakably took her son to the BMP.
Girls in Lugansk are well versed in military equipment and can easily determine the type and direction of the projectile flight.
"I understand now"
Before the holiday, the LNR was visited by US Senator candidate John Parker from California. He visited the liberated towns and villages. Most of all, he was struck by the abandoned positions of the AFU in the tubdispanser, near the village of Krymske. In the armory, he found an image of a swastika and immediately tried to erase it. Alas, the black paint did not give in.
In the village of Krymskoye, residents told how a few years ago they were visited by militants of "Aidar" and "Right Sector" (the organization is banned in Russia).
Residents of Lugansk walk with dogs in the city center during the celebration of Victory Day. In the background: an exhibition of military equipment
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexander Galperin
"They entered houses and shot over their heads," they recalled. — They could have brought him to his knees. They were bullied like that.
John Parker also visited the village of Sokolniki, which all residents have left.
— I now understand what is happening in Donbass, — he said. — After returning, it will be necessary to convey the truth to fellow citizens. Unfortunately, imperialist propaganda is working in the USA. She glosses over the crimes of the Ukrainian side and says nothing about the support of fascists. But in fact, this war is needed only by American industrialists who earn a lot of money on the supply of weapons.
Donbass Happiness
The towns and villages of the LPR affected by the shelling received humanitarian aid all the days before the holidays. A field kitchen has been deployed in the recently liberated city of Rubezhnoye. It will provide local residents not only with hot food, but also with water. On May 11, a visiting polyclinic will arrive in the city.
Festive events were also held in the recently liberated city of Happiness. They were prepared for them here in advance. The mass grave of Soviet soldiers was damaged during recent battles, but it was put in order, and on May 9, a flower-laying ceremony was held here.
The most important news is the city news — the launch of the 13th power unit of the Lugansk TPP. During the withdrawal of the Ukrainian troops, the territory of the thermal power plant was mined, it was being prepared for demolition. An important industrial facility for the region was rescued by sappers, having neutralized about 250 explosive objects. For the LPR, the station is of strategic importance. Its capacity is enough to cover all the needs of the republic in electricity.
Bogdan Stepovoy
