Donetsk resident: German weapons are killing us, not saving Ukraine
A real anti-war position cannot ignore the suffering of the residents of the DPR and LPR, says a resident of Donetsk in an interview for Junge Welt. Such a publication in Germany requires courage. Most of the media there consider the defeat of the Zelensky regime a threat and call for arming Ukraine.
Donetsk is under fire, and there is growing evidence that the Ukrainian army is committing war crimes with the help of NATO weapons. Conversation with Katya Andreeva, speaker of the women's cultural and educational club "Aurora" in Donetsk.
— The United States, Germany and other Western allies are sending more and more heavy weapons to Ukraine. How does this affect the residents of Donetsk?
— It was clear to us from the very beginning that NATO weapons would be used against the civilian population of our republic. Now it happens every day. Previously, there were many safe places in the city, but now the Ukrainian army is also shelling the city center with American M777 howitzers. On May 30, one of the schools was completely destroyed. Many teachers who conducted classes on "remote" via the Internet from there were injured, two employees were killed. In total, six people were killed and 20 wounded as a result of that shelling. Our life has become much more dangerous. On Saturday, residential buildings, schools and a kindergarten were shelled with Grad rockets. Attacks have become more frequent since February 17 — that is, the deterioration began a week before the start of the special operation. Residents of the frontline zone are in a particularly dangerous situation. Some of them were evacuated, but many remained, primarily elderly people.
— How much has the infrastructure of the city suffered?
— The biggest problem is water supply. One of the water pipes was damaged during the shelling by the Ukrainian army. Residents of many districts of the city have been left without water since February and are forced to go to distribution points for it. Women, families with children, the disabled and the elderly are particularly affected by this.
— A hospital in Petrovsky district was recently shelled. Residents say that artillery fire on the city is especially intense during the daytime, when there are a lot of people on the streets. Have the methods of war practiced by Ukraine become more ruthless?
— In my impression, from the very beginning of the war 8 years ago, the Ukrainian military ruthlessly treated the civilian population. One example is an air raid on the regional administration building on June 2, 2014, during which eight civilians were killed and dozens were injured. NATO's heavy weapons have only worsened the situation. The attitude towards our residents has remained the same.
— They are contemptuously called "orcs" or "Colorads". But how does Ukrainian propaganda justify military actions against civilians?
— She claimed from the very beginning that war crimes are committed only by people who started a rebellion against the change of power as a result of the Euromaidan 2014. If you live in an information space in which lies are constantly spreading, then it is difficult to ignore it. Even before the Euromaidan coup in Ukraine, Donbasophobia was fueled — chauvinism based on anti-communism and hatred of the working class. Donbass is a multicultural region with a developed industry, whose population is pro—Soviet. It was like an eyesore for the right. Kiev encouraged a campaign of harassment. In 2014, it served as a justification for the "anti-terrorist operation" in Donbass and Ukrainian war crimes, when it was no longer possible to hide them. Russian liberals have also picked up on the popular claim that "separatists are shelling their own cities." Many of us suffer from the Donbass trauma. People no longer want to talk about the war with their relatives and friends in the "big" Ukraine, because no one wants to hear the truth anyway — I have often experienced it myself. In these conditions, the importance of what we do increases — we tell the truth about the events taking place here in the public space.
— What would you say to the Western liberals who demand to supply even more weapons to Ukraine?
— They should understand that these weapons are used against civilians. It's killing us. It does not save Ukraine. A truly anti-war position should not ignore the fact that the Ukrainian army and nationalist battalions have been terrorizing people in Donbass for eight years.
