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THE SPECIAL WAR IN UKRAINE | FOCUS TRAILS OF WAR
NOVOAZOVS’K – The Donbass Riviera overlooking the Azov Sea is completely militarized. Along these 60 kilometers located between the Russian Federation and the city of Mariupol, pro-Russian militias are concentrating and, supported by the regular Kremlin army, are trying to break through to the west. The goal is to take control of the entire Ukrainian coast overlooking the Black Sea, to reach Odessa and finally to the border with Romania. This is a strategic move because doing so would completely deprive Ukraine of access to the sea.
The Battle of Mariupol
To do this, you must first conquer Mariupol, the last major stronghold of the Kiev army in this region. The Russians attacked it on Wednesday night and the battle is underway at this time. Novoazovsk is a separatist-controlled settlement about 30 kilometers from the city. Here the second lines of the pro-Russian militias are massively concentrated, waiting to go to the front. The country is carpeted with Russian flags and posters that read: “1945-2022. Having won the great patriotic war, we will win today too ”. Soldiers are everywhere. Some travel in tanks and armored vehicles, many others simply camp on the benches of the promenade, observing the Sea of Azov. A sea of gray color, like the winter sky. Looking at the horizon it is not clear where the first ends and the second begins. Along the coast to the west, Mariupol can be seen in the distance. The noises of explosions coming from that direction are loud and constant, at least one every ten minutes.
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Families divided
The few civilians who are seen only mostly women and girls. Natalia is a young mother who walks with her son and watches the militiamen. “I only hope that this war will end and that we will soon live under the same administration as in Mariupol. My brother and sister live there and we have been apart since 2014. I last saw them two years ago and I hope to be able to embrace them again soon “. Natalia’s story is similar to that of many people in these parts who tell of having relatives and friends both in Russia and in the part of Ukraine controlled by the government of Kiev. “We are one people and under the Soviet Union we all lived under one state,” says Victoria, a middle-aged lady. “I have relatives both in Russia and in Mariupol and it is absurd to live now under three different administrations despite being geographically so close”. When asked what you think about the arrival of the soldiers from Moscow, she sighs and replies: “I don’t want Russia to take control of our areas but at the moment I don’t see how it can be avoided. I would like to live in the Ukraine that existed until 2014, but does that Ukraine still exist? Now I am only interested in seeing my relatives soon ”.
Rows of tanks
The massive military presence affects the whole southern part of the Donbass. You notice it as soon as you leave Donetsk when you take the road towards the south, towards the Sea of Azov. Here you meet only endless lines of Russian tanks and other Russian military vehicles traveling in both directions. Some are covered with ivy leaves and fir branches, to disguise themselves in nature. On the side of each of them a large letter Zeta was painted, the symbol of the ongoing military campaign against Ukraine. It is not yet clear what this means. Some say it refers to Aleksandr Zacharcenko, the first leader of the breakaway republic of Donetsk killed in an attack in 2018. Others argue that the Zeta stands for Zelenski, the Ukrainian president, as a sign of disfigurement. On the western side of the road, the soldiers dig trenches, where they station themselves or where the tanks park, with the guns aimed at the nearby battlefields. Loud explosions are constantly coming from that side, a sign that Russian infantry are attacking Ukrainian-controlled villages.
On the Donbass front, pro-Russian separatists advance: “Let’s conquer the West”
by Luca Steinmann
Donbass volunteers
The checkpoints are numerous. Arriving at the village of Starobeseve, about halfway between Donetsk and the sea, the road is blocked due to bombing. You have to wait several hours before continuing. While waiting, he waits near the check point, next to the parked tanks. The soldiers wear green uniforms without symbols, their balaclavas pulled down over their faces. Some take up Kalashnikovs. To the arm or thigh they tied a red ribbon. “It serves as a recognition for when we advance” says one of them. He continues: “We are all from Donbass and were once miners. Some of us joined the militia in 2014, others with the mobilization of the last few days ”. Asking one of the volunteers why he decided to mobilize, he replies: “To fight against the banderists”. The reference is to Stepan Bandera, a collaborator with Nazi Germany during the Second World War to oppose the Soviet Union. According to the narrative of the separatist authorities, in fact, Ukrainians loyal to the Kiev government are hegemonized by neo-Nazis, heirs of those who supported Hitler in the 1940s. The Russian attack would therefore be a patriotic reaction against them.
During the night from Mariupol news of heavy bombing arrives, with the civilian population barricaded in the city bunkers and the streets in turn militarized by the Ukrainian army that wants to resist. According to the Russians, the city will fall within 48 hours.