In the past few days, the offensive went through to fly focused Donbass Orientalan area that includes the oblasts Donetsk and Lugansk. The intensification of the Russian attacks, the result of the change of strategy decided by the Kremlin, is symbolized by the rubble Mariupolcity at the Sea of Azov, now razed to the ground. since 2014, to fly has occupied part of the territory of two oblasts and installed the separatist republics there. Here, in the Donbass, the Russian advance achieved its greatest success to date. “More than 70% of Lugansk’s territory was captured by the Russians,” he explains Sergei Gaidaisince 2019 governor of the oblast. The region is firmly under control: in the north of the Russiawhich has conquered a large part of the territory, and recognized in the south by the separatist republic of the same name Wladimir Putin a few days before the invasion of Ukraine. The capital of the regional government was moved from the city Lugansksince 2014 in the hands of separatists, a Severodonetsk. In recent days, the region has been subjected to massive bombing raids, with no distinction between civilian and military targets. A monastery was destroyed on Saturday morning Varvarivkaa few kilometers from Lysychansk. The area occupied by Moscow troops since the beginning of the conflict has over 250,000 inhabitants. Of Severodonetsk the governor he calls “orcs‘ The Russian explains in his Facebook posts that the frontal winds go along a line of more than 200 kilometers KreminnaBy doing Luganskruns through the capital Severodonetskand comes to Donetsk. “Putin lied to the whole world. He said he would never attack Ukraine and he attacked them. For him, the negotiations are just a way to buy time to implement his crazy plan,” Governor Gaidai told . “Now he lies and claims that the Russians are not bombing cities he continues but he cannot hide it: there are videos on the Internet, photos and satellite images. I support President Zelenskyy in the negotiations because if there is even a one in a million chance of ending the war, you have to take it. But I don’t think Putin will ever keep his word.”
Mr. Governor, how is the situation in Lugansk?
The situation here is very difficult: the Russians are using all their strength against us to capture the Lugansk region to the border. So far they haven’t been able to do that because our defense line is holding and we can repel attacks. But unsuccessful, they switched to their favorite tactic: bomb everything. The generals are only interested in telling Putin that the territory is conquered, no matter what. Dozens of people die every day in the Lugansk region. And every day the houses are destroyed by artillery, tanks, rockets, planes.
Where do the fiercest fights take place?
The main clashes take place in the cities of Rubizhne and Popasna along the front line. This is where the enemy wants to focus their breakthrough efforts. Russia plans to encircle Severodonetsk to reach the border of the Luhansk region. In Rubizhne (half of which is in Russian hands, editor’s note) and Popasna, fighting is taking place in the inhabited center.
How many forces are on the field deployed by the Russians?
We don’t know the exact numbers. Today (Saturday, editor’s note) a thousand soldiers arrived from Chechnya. The Russians are mobilizing in the occupied territories: they are taking men between the ages of 18 and 65 onto the streets and recruiting them to fight in Ukraine. These people have no choice but they don’t know how to fight and so many of them die.
What is happening in Severodonesk and other cities of the region?
Big cities are bombed every day. There is not even a fully intact hospital anymore. Schools and kindergartens were also hit and infrastructure destroyed: In many places there is no running water, electricity or gas. This morning (Saturday, editor’s note) a gas pipeline was bombed in Severodonetsk, which we have not yet been able to repair. People mostly live in makeshift shelters, in basements, because they are afraid to go outside. Often we can’t even get the dead off the street because the Russians keep bombing.
The United States has announced that it will send Soviet tanks to the Donbass. Can you give us more details?
If they bring the tanks, we’ll be happy. Many Western weapons are coming, including very modern ones, and we are using them successfully. Just look how many Russian tanks we were able to destroy. The Moscow army turned out to be weak and cowardly: it does not know how to fight, only to destroy our cities. If you count the casualties among the soldiers, the Russians have ten times more dead than we do. We also manage to get hold of their weapons. There is a joke in Ukraine: “If before the war we had 400 tanks, now we have 450”.
How are the Russians behaving in the occupied territories?
The Russians behave like animals. We have a lot of evidence of soldiers entering and looting houses. When we capture a Russian column, we often see that their trucks are full of furniture and appliances such as washing machines, dishes, pots and even children’s toys.
And how do Ukrainians react to these attacks?
There were protests in some cities like Svatove, Starobilsk, Bilokurakyne, Novopskov. Many people demonstrated peacefully, armed only with the flags of Ukraine. They told the occupiers to leave, that nobody wants them here, that this is Ukrainian territory. But the Russians started shooting at him, and several people were injured. Now people are afraid to leave their homes to protest.
How many people were evacuated from the region?
Today alone we managed to move 2,500 of them. Every day we open humanitarian corridors. Around 18,000 people have been evacuated so far. However, this is an official figure, the actual number is much higher. In fact, many volunteers support us in our operations, while some civilians provide their funds. Many then manage to leave in their car. There are also those who get paid for the trip and make money. I don’t like the thing, but I prefer not to intervene because the most important thing is that as many people as possible manage to escape. We take them to western Ukraine where they are supported by the state. The government guarantees these people a place to sleep, clothes, food and anything else that can help them get a job there.