2023-11-30 20:28:01
Relations of the population of Donbass with the Russian army, end of the conflict, future of Ukraine and Zelensky: second and final part of our interview with Victor D.
Vladimir Putin has been accused of kidnapping Ukrainian children in Russia. Is there any truth in this statement?
Absolutely not. The little children left with their parents. This is the generation of thirty-somethings who have young children. The older ones, the teenagers, left alone outside Donbass to continue their studies at boarding schools, in safety in different regions of Russia. Russia has never kidnapped children! It’s a big lie. Provocation from the West. The only thing we could reproach Vladimir Putin for is having intervened far too late.
In your opinion, will this conflict last for a long time?
Everyone hopes that this will end in 2024. We must not forget that we have been living under the bombs of the Banderists for ten years. Since February 2022, the conflict has evolved. There are more and more Russian soldiers in Donbass. They established a curfew and severe discipline. We can’t walk around or get together easily. One of my friends was supposed to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the creation of the school but she couldn’t, it was banned. In fact, it is to prevent the Banderists from seeing civilian gatherings through their satellites and bombing them. The Russian army had to take precautions to avoid mass killings among civilians.
With a childhood friend, we went to Makiïvka, the town of my birth, and we visited another friend who had been injured and who, therefore, remained in her ward, able to count on the help of his grandchildren. She had a good harvest of pickles, vegetables and fruits which she made into preserves. She told us that one day a tank parked in her vegetable garden. She was afraid that they were Ukrainians but when they started firing missiles at the Banderists, she understood that they were Russians. She was so happy that she brought them large boxes of pickle jars. The tank left but the Banderists continued to fire on his garden and completely destroyed his orchard. For nothing, since the tank had left.
“The people of Donbass have never considered the Russians as invaders”
Apparently, according to you, the Russian army maintains good relations with the inhabitants. Contrary to what is said in the press in the West, you do not consider the Russians to be invaders?
Very good relationships. My friends who still live there make bread, cakes, jams, which they bring to the Russian soldiers.
The people of Donbass have never considered the Russians as invaders. I know from friends who stayed there that this is what is being said but it is not true. We see them as liberators. Unfortunately, they came too late. They should have come in 2014. We understand, however, that in 2014, Russia was not yet ready to fight all the nations of the West combined, but eight years was a very, very long time. That said, most of us understand it. But so many sacrifices, so many victims… In Donetsk there is a monument which is nicknamed “The Alley of the Angels” in homage to the children murdered by the Banderists.
How do you explain that Ukrainians continue to be killed “to the last one” for a fight that is lost in advance?
The children of my friends from Donbass who were on the Russian front say that the Ukrainian soldiers are probably on drugs. They don’t feel pain and when they are taken prisoner and come to their senses, they react differently. It looks like they’re getting back to normal.
Many Ukrainians are trying to escape conscription. But it is very difficult due to border controls, both on the Russian and Ukrainian sides.
That said, Vladimir Putin wanted to facilitate the arrival of Ukrainians on Russian territory but they still have to be able to leave Ukraine, and that has become extremely dangerous.
How do you explain the fact that Volodymyr Zelensky, who only spoke Russian, and had to learn Ukrainian when he became president, was able to stand up against part of his own people?
“Money, Money, Money” ! You know the song… It’s totally sold to the West. But now he no longer has a choice. He made the wrong choice in the first place. In Donbass, Zelensky is loathed by locals, and this is apparently the case in much of Ukraine as well. Although apparently in kyiv, and even in Russia, people don’t really realize the situation. You have to experience the events to understand.
Yet, when he was elected, didn’t he promise to end corruption and to be the president of all Ukrainians?
Indeed. We were very happy when he was elected. We believed him to be sincere. We knew him as an artist, a very popular comedian. We hoped he would keep his promises.
“Zelensky has been bought. We hope he is eliminated”
For you, Donbass is a country with a future?
Yes. We hope. The land is good. Despite the bombings, industry is flourishing, with steel, electronics and chemicals. People work on site and sometimes do not return home because in the factories there are shelters and everything they need to survive. The buildings that date from Soviet times are very, very solid. They often only return home once a week. It’s less dangerous than having to travel every day.
Look what Mariupol has become. Now it’s Russia. The city is reborn from its ashes. It has become a beautiful city, completely rebuilt, with kindergartens, beautiful buildings, hospitals… Some Russian regions sponsored the city.
What do you think it would take for this conflict to stop?
We need talks, but with Zelensky it is not possible because he is sold! It was purchased. We hope Zelensky is eliminated. Perhaps he will be killed, wherever he flees… but he will certainly leave. This is the only solution for us to find peace.
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