Even in the liberated villages of Donbass, Ukrainian civilians are far from over with the war. To the point that some regret the time of the USSR. Near Sloviansk, black smoke rises in the heart of the village of Yampil. ” They just hit downtown” explain these inhabitants, accelerating the pace. A pick-up stops, the window is lowered: ” We are looking for the injured!“A little further on, a woman is screaming. She is distraught, her husband has just left for the hospital: a piece of shrapnel has hit him. In the courtyard of her house, Raïssa shows us the bloodstains, which spread out for several meters.” He came home, and he said to me: it’s over Raïssa! It’s over for me!“, she despairs, in tears.
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Both had just returned to Yampil. Their village was liberated two months ago. Since then, Raïssa has been convinced that her neighbor is working with the Russians to help them adjust their strikes. The shooting never stopped, confirm soldiers. ” It’s all the time. And over there, they explain, pointing to the forest, just a little further it’s the war“.
War-weary civilians become nostalgic for Soviet times
Michko, 59, took out his old bike for him to get bread. So much for the strikes. His house is destroyed anyway. He has been living with his neighbour. ” You know what my dream is ?he asks. Silence… and peace. I was born in the Soviet Union, and I want to live in the USSR, peacefully. Like before ! I no longer know who is fighting and for what. What’s the point of all this ?“Michko wonders.
In the street, no one lingers. The sound of war is everywhere. You can still hear it inside the grocery store, the only one in the village, where dozens of soldiers come to improve their ration, often a little sausage. Tatiana is 63 years old, she gave herself sweets. ” This is for me, I live alone“, she confides with a slight smile. She says that the occupation has been difficult. ” But now it’s worse. We don’t know what can happen and it’s this uncertainty that is scary“.
Russian bombardments continue to fall on Yampil, a village liberated by the Ukrainians – Report by Agathe Mahuet and Laurent Macchietti
