Defiant Spirit in Sloviansk: Ukrainians Brace for Putin’s Looming Threat
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Despite relentless Russian attacks and the specter of renewed occupation, residents of Sloviansk, Ukraine, are striving to maintain a sense of normalcy and hope, even as the city faces a forbidding future.
The determination to persevere was evident this month when Viktoria Horban, a store clerk at the Ramazan women’s fashion shop, decided to decorate for Christmas following a particularly harrowing night of Russian drone and missile strikes. “I thought, today is the right day to put up the Christmas decorations in the shop,” she said. “I knew the tree and the twinkling lights would cheer people up. With all the sadness and uncertainty we are experiencing, I thought we needed something happy and bright.”
A City Under Siege
Sloviansk, a city in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region known for its ceramics industry, sits less than 20 miles from the front lines. Its recent history is marked by turbulence. Briefly seized by Russia-backed separatists in April 2014, the city was liberated months later by Ukrainian forces, only to face escalating violence with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Now, with a dwindling population – down to an estimated 50,000 from 111,000 in January 2022 – and a largely inactive economy, Sloviansk is once again under threat.
Recent months have seen an intensification of Russian strikes targeting civilian infrastructure. While Russian forces on the eastern front have faced setbacks, they have made incremental territorial gains, causing demoralization among Ukrainians. The nearby city of Pokrovsk, recently claimed by Russian President Vladimir Putin as having fallen to his forces, serves as a stark warning. Drone footage reveals a landscape of collapsed buildings and charred vehicles, with Russian flags raised over destroyed municipal buildings. As of Wednesday, Ukrainian forces still controlled approximately five square miles in the north of Pokrovsk, according to Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces.
Putin’s Vow and the Shadow of Concession
Perhaps the most harrowing aspect for the people of Sloviansk is Putin’s repeated vow to take all of the Donetsk region – 70% of which is already under Russian control – through either negotiation or military force. This threat places Sloviansk and the neighboring industrial city of Kramatorsk directly in his crosshairs.
Adding to the anxiety is the potential for territorial concessions, fueled by pressure from the United States. White House officials and European sources indicate that a recent Ukraine peace plan proposed by former President Donald Trump centers on ceding the entire Donbas region, including Donetsk, to Russia. Trump publicly expressed frustration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s resistance to this plan, while European leaders have urged Zelenskyy to stand firm against any territorial concessions. Zelenskyy has argued that relinquishing Donetsk, including Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, would not only reward Putin but also open the door to further Russian aggression. He announced plans to submit an amended peace plan to the U.S. “soon.”
“How Would You Feel?”
The threat extends beyond geopolitics, striking at the heart of individual security and belonging. “I would ask anyone, how would you feel if someone came to your house and said to you, ‘One way or another I will take your home, so you might as well just give it to me?’” Ms. Horban asked, emphasizing the broader implications for international security. “If Putin gets his way, to me, it says we have returned to the days when it’s the guy with the biggest stone who wins.”
At Sloviansk’s Fire Station 37, senior firefighter and rescue coordinator Dmytro Udalov confirmed that Putin’s words are a constant source of fear. “Everyone is aware of what he said, they know what Russia does in the places it occupies, and it makes them scared,” he explained. Firetruck driver Pavlo Chernyi, who transferred to Sloviansk from Pokrovsk in January, echoed this sentiment, stating, “The fear that what I lived through in Pokrovsk might be repeated here – who doesn’t have that feeling in his stomach?”
The challenges faced by emergency services have increased dramatically in recent years. Udalov noted the need to contend with glide bombs and drones, as well as the Russian tactic of “double-taps” – striking a location, waiting for first responders to arrive, and then striking again to maximize casualties. Just hours after Udalov spoke, a Russian glide bomb struck a Sloviansk apartment tower, killing one woman and damaging dozens of apartments. Volunteers from the Angels of Salvation humanitarian organization were on hand the following morning, assisting with repairs and providing support to residents.
A Reluctant Evacuation?
For many in Sloviansk, a mandatory evacuation of children would signal a critical turning point, marking a devastating blow to the city’s future. While some residents, like Nataliia Borzenkova, a nurse, plan to remain “for now” due to job security, others are grappling with the difficult decision of whether to stay or leave.
Udalov acknowledged that the elderly are often the most reluctant to evacuate, clinging to their homes and memories. However, he cautioned that delaying evacuation puts others at risk. Despite his own deep connection to Sloviansk, Udalov admitted he has considered the possibility of relocating. “I’m not so attached to this place as the elderly are. If I lose my apartment, I can rent one somewhere else. I have even thought,” he added, “that if it happened soon, I would be able to see how they celebrate the New Year in another city of Ukraine.”
Despite the looming threat and the daily realities of war, the people of Sloviansk demonstrate a remarkable resilience, clinging to hope and finding small ways to maintain a sense of normalcy in the face of an uncertain future.
