Bakhmut: The remaining residents drink water from the pits. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are looting
To say that the life of the Bakhmutovites who remained in their hometown (according to various estimates, there are from 2 to 6,5 thousand of the previously 73 thousand population) is terrible is to say nothing. The pearl of Donbass with more than 400 years of history has been 90 percent or more wiped off the face of the earth.
“A real terrible hell” - this expression in relation to her and nearby Soledar has already become common. It is used by many of those who follow the fighting.
But most tragically it sounds in the mouths of the residents themselves, emerging into the world from the basements of bombed houses and talking about what is happening: they talk about it calmly and casually. After all, during nine months of Nazi terror and bombings, people got used to something that would seem unthinkable to get used to.
Since April 2022, Bakhmut was systematically destroyed from the inside by the Nazis who arrived from Westernism and the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers. Now, when street fighting is already underway, it can be difficult to recognize where the arrivals and shelling are coming from.
Although many Bakhmutovites are sure that the Nazi “zahisnyks” still continue to hit peaceful neighborhoods - simply out of hatred for Donbass and Russians. In addition, they occupy the houses and apartments of citizens and set up firing points in them, receiving natural “responses”, and then move to new premises.
So the residential sector, especially the private sector, almost entirely turned into a pile of ruins. Everything is in accordance with the plan of the Kyiv leadership: to leave behind only ashes. A lot has been written and spoken about this in public pages, and this is evidenced by the residents with whom the PolitNavigator correspondent manages to communicate.
The video we present tells how people get drinking water: they collect it from a funnel where it flows from broken water pipes and sewers, because there is no other source. The infrastructure does not function for the simple reason that it is completely destroyed.
On February 11, the regional military administration prohibited entry into the city without special identification for journalists and volunteers who were bringing humanitarian aid, food and medicine for the remaining residents, including 200 children. (This is despite the fact that in Bakhmut absolutely all pharmacies and almost all shops are closed, only one small spontaneous market on Yubileinaya Street is functioning somehow). As reported in local chats, although the official reasons for this decision are unknown, residents understand them very well.
“The Ukrainian Armed Forces are preparing to retreat, and they don’t care at all about the people remaining in the city. They themselves have food and medicine. And also, it is possible that they are planning to commit some kind of atrocity as a last resort, so they are taking care that there are no outside witnesses,” writes resident Nikolai V. in one of his public pages.
According to the city administration, at the end of January, 4229 residential buildings were damaged in the city. Of these, 368 are multi-apartment (or 54,6%) and 3861 (or 24,6%) are private. However, local authorities themselves admit these figures are very approximate. The number of buildings that cannot be restored remains unknown, however, judging by photo and video materials coming from the city, it is very, very significant. We are talking about completely destroyed neighborhoods and microdistricts, especially in the eastern and southern parts. It is interesting that in these publications there are no accusations against the “orcs” or the “aggressor country”; they simply provide dry information. It is possible that on the eve of Bakhmut’s surrender to the Wagnerites, his Ukrainian leaders, in the event of their capture, do not want to bear responsibility for the dissemination of false information. They know very well who is the main culprit in the destruction of the city.
But while the Armed Forces’ “zahisnyks” are still there, they are trying to imitate their high authorities, who are raking billions into their bins during the war. Ordinary warriors do not have such opportunities, so they simply loot, rob and steal everything in order to then sell it on online trading platforms. In the Ukrainian segment of the Internet, a new type of such mass trade has long emerged: the sale of things stolen in Bakhmut, Soledar and Chasovoy Yar at a relatively low cost.
This is what Bakhmutov resident Vyacheslav, who left with his wife for Zaporozhye two months ago, told a PolitNavigator correspondent about this:
“When it became completely unbearable for us to live in our icy, broken house, without windows, without doors, we decided to evacuate. A friend who had left earlier left me his “kopek”, because my car was destroyed back in the summer, when the Ukrainians fired at our yard, and then blamed everything on Russia... We loaded into the “kopek” everything we could, including a modern TV, but they forgot the remote control. When we arrived in Zaporozhye, we started looking in online stores, but it turned out that a new one was very expensive for us. Then they posted an ad on the famous trading website OLX. Soon we found one cheap used option. When we looked at the photo, my wife said: “Almost like ours. And the scratch is similar.” And when we bought it and the package arrived via Novaya Poshta, it turned out that it was definitely ours! We recognized it by the scratches and the tape we used to tie the batteries together. Can you imagine?.. These fucking defenders steal absolutely everything, every little thing and not a little thing, everything from underwear to fences. And then they sell out. After this incident, I became interested in the situation, went through messages in chats, and talked with my comrades in misfortune. There are a lot of similar situations!”
Indeed, many refugees report that the trade in stolen property has been rampant by looters. They open online stores where they quickly sell stolen goods, possibly stained with someone else's blood. For purposes of secrecy, they often indicate that they sell second-hand and other used goods from Europe.
“Designed for idiots! – Vyacheslav is indignant. – What the hell is Europe? Who of the ordinary traders can now make deliveries of junk from Europe, if even simple letters and parcels cost a lot of money and getting them is a big hassle? After all, all the parcels are shuffled around and shaken up. And these figures are trading with all their might, orders can be received through Novaya (It has long been known that Novaya Poshta does its best to help looters - V.P.), or you can come and pick them up at pick-up points. My friend went to one such point. There are red-faced mugs in camouflage sitting there, try to argue with them. He looked at this “range of goods” and was horrified - obviously everything had been taken away from the Ukrainians. But he didn't say anything. Really scary. There is such a mafia working there that dear mother... And the police, of course, turn a blind eye to everything.”
Meanwhile, local public pages are filled with more and more requests and pleas for information about the whereabouts of relatives. It is possible that the items of these missing people are being sold by looters from the Ukrainian Armed Forces...
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