by Lorenzo Cremonesi
The road used by the invaders’ long line of tanks a few days ago is now clear. Zelenskyi government: Italy is also one of the countries that guarantee our security
FROM OUR SEND
Vyshhorod (Kyiv) Life in the Capital Region This new phase of the war means mostly seeing shops reopening, young people sitting in bars, more traffic on the streets, but also soldiers and Civil Guard volunteers benefiting Moment of calm to double the defense systems and intensify the controls at the checkpoints. It has now been a few days since Ukrainian forces counterattacked in the areas around the northern suburbs, but also in the eastern and western suburbs. It is now apparent that the Russians are in retreat, only a handful of kilometers in some stretches, but up to thirty in others, rendering useless much of the artillery and Grad rocket batteries which, according to their original plans, were hardbombing Kyiv should… to weaken his resistance.
The three bridges destroyed
Yesterday morning we drove about 25 kilometers to reach Vyshhorod: one of the towns on the road, which a month ago was captured by the gigantic convoy (a real army corps) coming from Belarus through Chernobyl, which should have brought quick victory to Putin . The street was quiet, with little traffic and few military vehicles in sight. Just as we entered the city district along the Dnieper and a soldier showed the three bridges that were destroyed three weeks ago to prevent Russian armored vehicles from entering the nearby power plant, news came from Moscow that Russian forces were in a entering a new phase of the war focused more on the Eastern regions of the Donbass than on Kyiv.
The latest news about the war in Ukraine
An admission of helplessness
The Russian commandos are portraying the move as being in line with the original plan. From here, however, the announcement appears as an admission of helplessness and the clearest proof of the failure of Russia’s original plan to seize Kyiv. From the first days of the war it was clear to us that the Russians had no way of getting into the urban circle of the capital. Their tanks are poorly equipped, with broken radios, little fuel, few spare parts, expired food rations, and soldiers too scantily clad for cold nights out, says a defense officer who doesn’t want to be photographed or identified, not the only one. Even the guards at the local hospital are hostile. Photos and interviews are forbidden, it is said. Your caution is fueled by the need to counter Russian saboteurs, agents and small militant cells aiming to wreak havoc in the rear. We have accidents almost every night. There have been murders and kidnappings of leaders in our community. And now we have to beware of the Russian deserters who steal civilian clothes from abandoned houses, explains Sergei, one of the leaders of the community.
The industrial area
Back in the capital we stop in the industrial area where the Tornado factory is located, a large company that manufactures uniforms and bulletproof vests for the army. Here, too, the orders to remain silent are strict, and Russian missiles are feared. The director, fiftyyearold Alexander Vasilcinkov, readily tells: we had 8 factories and 780 employees, the war reduced us to 6 factories with 228 workers. But production has quadrupled since February 24: from 30,000 packaged units per month to 120,000. And that applies to all factories, despite thousands of raw material and transport difficulties, the state pays and we tighten the shifts.
The resistance
Optimism radiates from Kyiv to the other provinces. Until two days ago, it appeared that only the areas bordering the Donbass and the Kherson region were under full Russian control. But last night the Ukrainian commandos and the Pentagon reiterated that the resistance in Kherson had resumed fighting: if the Russians gave it up, Putin would be in trouble. In other cities like Chernihiv, Mariupol and Kharkiv, fighting rages on and the Ukrainians remain surrounded.
PS Andriy Yermak, an employee of Zelensky, told the Georgian media that among the countries guaranteeing security in Ukraine, in addition to the permanent members of the UN Security Council, we would like Turkey, Germany, Canada and Israel. And that there is information about an interest of Italy to join this process.
March 25, 2022 (Modification March 26, 2022 | 00:30)
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