Files on the war between Ukraine and RussiaIn the village of Klichtchiivka, which the Ukrainians say they recaptured from the Russian army on Sunday, two crucial firing positions now bear the name of the president and the French writer familiar with the front.
Is it a mirage? A homage to Caesar? A view of the mind? Apparently we re-read the news twice (or even three times) when we discovered in the Ukrainian magazine NV on Monday that the retaking of the wild fields of Donbass was a small foretaste for certain brave Ukrainian fighters who maneuvered around Bakhmout Saint-Germain-des had -Prés… It turns out that on Sunday the Ukrainian armed forces liberated the village of Klichtchiivka, 7 km south of Bakhmut. The fight was hard, there is no house or garden left in good condition. But the Ukrainian counter-attackers are proud of having fought hard to recapture from the Russians, the scene of the toughest fighting, two strategic positions that will make it possible to cover the coming offensive actions. The Russians were defeated, the nomenclature changed. New military codename for the positions: “Macron” and “Bernard-Henri Lévy”.
“BHL is a regular player”
Colonel Vlad Volochine, head of the “Soledar” press group, explains: “We named two positions vacated in Klichtchiivka with the names Emmanuel Macron and his advisor (sic) Bernard-Henri Lévy because we understand that they are respectable people” , says the Ukrainian officer NV. Lévy, for example, is a great friend of Ukraine and does a lot for us. It was one of the most difficult positions in Klichtchiivka, when we took it we set up firing positions there. Other positions are called “Boar,” “Charlie,” or “Gibbon,” but only these two were given personal names. The “Lévy” position is to the north, towards Bakhmout, and the “Macron” position is 200 meters away. It is very dangerous there, the Russians, knowing how important it is, shoot tirelessly. We kept them and in Klichtchiïvka we call it “being in French”.
Chronicle “Pleasure/Pleasure”
For the military chronicle, we remember that Klichtchiivka, which had a few hundred inhabitants before the invasion, is crucial because it lies on the railway line connecting Bakhmout with Horlivka, a major city in occupied Donbass. “The Russians threw all their reserves here to preserve the place,” says Colonel Voloshin, who is not unknown to the French philosopher. “I went to Chassiv Yar and the Klichtchiivka area with Colonel Volochine this summer,” Bernard-Henri Lévy confirms to Libération. I’m obviously very moved. Very. For me, there is no greater honor than this.” BHL regularly visits Ukraine and inspects the areas around the front and the scenes of war crimes. “BHL is a regular, a bit like Boris Johnson, they may have the impression that people take them more seriously here in Ukraine than at home,” smiles a former MP.
Exotic attraction
“Lévy is little known to the general Ukrainian public, but he is a well-known figure in political and cultural circles. “He maintains good relationships with personalities like the rock star Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, he also has good contacts in the army,” says a TV journalist from Kiev, for whom “a well-dressed Frenchman in a white shirt at the front” is interesting, even one exotic attraction for the soldiers themselves. BHL was often able to build its networks and found resonance with Ukrainian elites who needed love and support. His skillfully narrated hikes often end up in magazines. It’s good that the Lviv Book Fair is taking place on October 5th, where BHL is the guest of honor. “For me he is a character who understands that we live in historical times,” said the journalist, “and who is trying to write his own story so that it fits into the larger story and the history books.”