In eastern Ukraine, police and soldiers are prepared for an advance by Russian forces and are stepping up controls in the city of Kramatorsk, the Donbass capital.
The “great battle” of the East is imminent. On the fiftieth day of the war in Ukraine, Moscow’s strategic U-turn from a few weeks ago bodes the worst. End of March, the General Staff of the Russian Army had indicated that they would concentrate on the east of the countryin particular the Donbass, the Kremlin’s priority target.
Among the target cities, Kramatorsk, the capital of Ukraine’s Donbass, has become a major Moscow destination. On Friday, April 8, the train station bombing killed 57 people and residents are in a hurry to flee. Only the police and armed men remain in the area, determined to defend their city.
The number of checkpoints on the streets has multiplied. We check that there are no separatists. Because sometimes they carry explosives, weapons or they hide someone who is wanted,” explains a gendarme at the BFMTV microphone.
“I’m a Ukrainian citizen. I love my country, that’s why I defend it.”
“We are waiting” for orders
In order to prevent Russian troops from breaking through, all entrances to the city are now monitored. The police and military are ready for troops to advance from Moscow.
“I don’t know what will happen,” admitted Sergei, a police officer who came from Mariupol to defend Kramatorsk. Right now, “we’re conducting protection missions inside the city,” he said.
“We have received new ammunition and equipment, we are awaiting orders from our leaders.”
As a sign of the tension in Kramatorsk, the soldiers build makeshift bunkers with sandbags and logs to protect themselves from the bombardment.
The military expects an escalation in attacks on Kramatorsk this week or the next two weeks. It can happen any day,” the city’s mayor said of the attack by Russian forces on Wednesday.
Maeva Lahmi, Jérémy Normand, with AG