From Donbass with anxiety

"A truce? What a truce? What are you talking about? "

In Donetsk or Lugansk, it is not easy to find someone who would seriously perceive the ceasefire agreement signed on September 5 in Minsk

Fighters on blocks on both sides-in full combat readiness. Gorlovka, Donetsk region, September 18, 2014 /Photo: David Mdzinarishvili /Reuters

The decision of the Rada is also perceived with the skepticism to provide a “special status” with the rebellious regions: in the zone where there is a fratricidal war between Ukrainians, distrust of power in Kyiv has never been so strong.

Lugansk: Waiting for signals

“Kyiv can declare anything to the world ... And here, in Lugansk, we have not yet moved away from summer shock when we sat on the basements and prayed to get out of this nightmare,” says Yuri Yurov, the editor -in -chief of the local newspaper XXI century, the spread of which has resumed since September 17. Kiev’s talent of “special” autonomous status to two separatist regions does not please the authorities in any way: these decisions, they believe in Lugansk, are aimed at reassuring Ukrainian society, from which the DPR and LPR have long been excluded.

Lugansk suffered more than other cities as a result of fierce battles between the Ukrainian army and the separatists supported by Russia. The center of Lugansk from September 14 (when the city day was celebrated here) is again connected to electricity. But this does not change the general mood: the Luhansk residents, with whom they managed to talk at the entrance to the regional administration building, complain about the confused situation.

One woman cries, worrying about her son, who is still hostage, and she does not even know who - representatives of the new government cannot yet give her any answer. The other is worried about the future of the children: despite the fact that several schools were opened on September 1 (in the Donetsk region, the beginning of the school year was transferred to October 1), you can’t call normal training conditions: “Most school teachers, like doctors of the local hospital, left with the beginning of battles.”

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“The population should rely on us, the military. We will win soon "

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But the greatest concern of the population is pensions. They are not paid yet, although the LPR administration promises to rectify the situation "in the near future." “Almost all banks are closed. To remove cash, you need to leave the ATO zone, and this is unsafe, ”explains the unemployed miner Vadim before landing on the bus to Kramatorsk, where, according to Vadim," calmly and everything works. "

In the chaos of the life of Donetsk and Lugansk, a variety of rumors circulate, including about the upcoming nationalization of local enterprises. However, Yuri Yurov makes it clear that rumors have the ground: “It is necessary that deputies (regional council) voted for this law (on nationalization) as soon as possible - it should touch on metallurgical enterprises, mines, state banks, mail and railway.” But as for private possessions or territories that were expropriate, often with the use of force, during the war, then they must be returned to their former owners, if they, of course, will legally prove the right of ownership, Yurov explains.

There is no doubt: in Lugansk, located closer to Russia than Donetsk, all views are directed to Moscow. “From Moscow, we are waiting primarily for investment, moral support, but also of another kind of support, too, if it becomes necessary again,” Yuri Yurov explains with a tired look. But no soothing signals are heard from Moscow.

Donetsk: "Why is everything not like in the Crimea?"

The population of Donetsk, which is located approximately 150 km from Lugansk, is exhausted by battles. Everyone says that Ukrainian troops retreated from the city only thanks to military support from Russia. The Ukrainian army has left, but the inhabitants of the city did not decrease the alarms for difficulties. Many say that winter is ahead, and how much food remains in the city is really not clear. At gas stations - queues. In pharmacies - a deficiency of drugs. In many conversations, the same refrain is heard: "Why didn’t everything go here as in the Crimea?"

Disappointed, angry, humiliated, the inhabitants of Donetsk are waiting for better times, not fully understanding which direction to them to turn in the absence of a transparent and effective local government. “The population should rely on us, the military. We will win soon, ”the Mongol, one of the field commanders of the DPR, who is fighting from the very beginning of the fighting in the Donbass, confidently in a conversation. Mongol frankly do not like the Minsk agreements: "This is a betrayal."

The war in Ukraine has already claimed 3,000 people, hundreds of thousands have become refugees. Many people hope that the Minsk agreements, as well as the “special status” granted to the Kiev separatist regions, will serve as a foundation for settlement. But ordinary people, civilians of Donbass are still performed by anxiety.