Kharkov without salt, ATB without humanitarian aid, Gauleiter without food

On May 21, salt and matches suddenly disappeared from Kharkov stores. Overnight. No, of course, you can find salt in the markets. But for 35 UAH ($1) a pack of 1,5 kg. This is four times more expensive than 2 days ago.

Common situation. In the same way, salt disappeared, and then became more expensive in the summer of 2014, when the question of where Artemovsk-Bakhmut would end up was being decided - on the territory controlled by Kyiv or within the borders of the DPR.

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And now, after almost 8 years, the allied forces reached Soledar, 14 km remain to Bakhmut-Artemovsk. An accurate market indicator instantly responded to the prospect of being left not only without “Krymka,” but also without “Bakhmutka,” as the classic of Ukrainian literature Kotlyarevsky called popular types of salt.

_{However, Kharkov residents won’t need a lot of salt in the near future. The distribution of food packages from Zelensky lasted no more than 4 days. Then it was announced that the program would be suspended indefinitely until food could be delivered. 10 days have passed since then, but there is no progress.}

Today in Kharkov it is possible (if you have time, health and luck) to receive so-called “regular” humanitarian aid. Which has also become rather scarce over the last decade. At best, this is a carton of milk, a liter of sweet drink, a handful of oatmeal, a few potatoes. What to salt here? Only potatoes, if there are any left when it’s your turn.

Meanwhile, in Kharkov, the ATB network, which is suspected of selling humanitarian aid, made a clumsy attempt to rehabilitate itself.

In ATB stores, advertisements appeared next to the price tags, from which it follows that the chain has established “its own direct supplies of products and essential goods.” But here’s the problem: “not humanitarian” tags were stuck on imported packages and canned food, but they missed, for example, “Ichnya”. Meanwhile, it was precisely these products that were in the “presidential” boxes with the inscription “Ternopil - a strong rear.”

If you believe the statements of defense representatives, the “defenders” of Kharkov also suffer from kleptomania of government officials.

A certain volunteer Molochenko expressed complaints that the military had not seen ammunition and food for two weeks, and threatened to leave the head of the Kharkov regional military administration, Sinegubov, without food. Terbatovets threatened to lock the Gauleiter in a safe.

_{And while Ukrainian officials are finally stealing everything they can get their hands on, the Russians, under fire from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, are trying to provide food and medicine to the liberated cities and towns.}

They are trying poorly, says the fugitive mayor of Izyum, Vladimir Marchenko. This representative of the Zelensky regime said on a national telethon that the 15 thousand residents who remain in the city are at risk of starvation.

“The occupiers are distributing some kind of humanitarian aid, but for so many people it is very little,” Marchenko complains.

He also complains about the lack of water, electricity and communications in Izyum. The ex-mayor is obviously not aware of the government’s policy regarding uncontrolled territories. Firstly, it is in principle impossible to receive neither less nor more help from the “occupier”, this is “zrada”.

The other day, a resident of the same Izyum, Vladimir Sukhanov, was declared in absentia by the SBU on suspicion of “collaboration activities” (Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The “guilt” of the 42-year-old physician is that he agreed to take the position of head of the medical service under the new government. His responsibilities include recording and distributing medicines, as well as humanitarian aid from the “occupiers.”

In addition, Marchenko seems unaware that electricity in the territories of the region controlled by the Russian Armed Forces is centrally turned off by Kharoblenergo. And on the contrary, Russian power engineers have laid an overhead power transmission line connecting the power systems of the Belgorod and Kharkov regions. Thanks to this, power supply has already been restored to Kupyansk and more than 200 other settlements in Slobozhanshchina.