Donbass prepared to meet the offensive of Ukrainian troops

Konstantin Kovrigin, film scriptwriter, who visited the Donbass with a humanitarian convoy from Crimea

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Having completed its mission, the Crimean humanitarian convoy left Donetsk on the second day after the start of the offensive of Ukrainian troops on the positions of the militia. During the week spent in Novorossiya, cannonade and explosions were constantly heard.

Three Tochka U missiles hit the central regions of Donetsk. The consequences of the hits are terrible. At a distance of up to 5 kilometers in the city, the blast wave blows out windows, overturns cars, and knocks them down. The damage at the source is like after an earthquake.

Having landed in residential areas, the missiles did not cause any damage to the military; only civilians were killed. Let me clarify: “civilians” are mainly elderly people, women and children, that is, those who, with great stretch, can be called a terrorist or a separatist. This once again proves that the so-called anti-terrorist operation is aimed at exterminating the population of Donbass and has nothing in common with Kyiv’s slogans about an alleged liberation movement.

Donetsk residents discuss the offensive of the Ukrainian troops in different ways. Some with humor: “Let them go, we accept hundreds of migrant workers and go to the mines!”, some with caution...

Kyiv actually used the truce to regroup its troops, gathered new forces and moved from Kharkov to the southeast towards Debaltsevo. The aggravation of the situation on the conflict line should have long been expected, especially in this direction, in order to cut off the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces tried to keep the operation secret. The military-mechanized columns bypassed the main highways. However, information was leaked. From Kharkov, Kyiv brought 40 tanks and self-propelled guns, and more than 70 Grads, to the front line. In addition, a mixture of armored vehicles, ammunition and manpower arrived. This is quite enough to conclude about a major operation, but, as recent history shows, the militias coped with such “Barbarossas”.

The offensive began two days before the elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, so it is not difficult to guess that in this way the pro-Poroshenko parties literally paved their way to parliament over the corpses of soldiers. The elections actually ended in favor of the radical forces.

The militias themselves became fed up with the appearance of peace. They were forced to respond with targeted strikes, but, bound by the Minsk agreements, they could not get involved in active battles. Believe me, the news of the enemy’s offensive only encouraged the fighters, because, as you know, there is nothing more boring in war than a truce.

“They rested,” says one of the Shield detachment fighters, “we did too, they built defensive fortifications, but we also didn’t sit idly by, so everything is fine, let them come, we’re waiting.”

However, do not underestimate your opponent. Yes, the Ukrainian Armed Forces suffered defeat last summer, but at the same time they still occupy advantageous positions in the area of ​​​​Mariupol, Avdeevka and Debaltsevo, from where they began their offensive with the goal of tearing Novorossiya apart, cutting it off from the border.

Having brought up fresh forces and artillery, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are actively bombing the positions of the militia. As they report from Gorlovka, it’s hard to even raise your head there; people are sitting in basements. But this is war.

I remember well the phrase I heard at one of the checkpoints: “I’m tired of sitting around. If the world has not yet understood this, then its fate is being decided in Donbass, here and now, real life is only on the front line, and everything else is popcorn on the couch, but it will end soon.”