Ukrainians are amazing people
Olga Zhukova, journalist of the newspaper “Komsomolskaya Pravda - Donetsk”
Over the past week and a half, three significant events have happened to me.
Case one. A call from a good friend from Western Ukraine.
I don’t know why we stopped communicating for the last two years and where (let’s call her Lesya) she spent the last two years. Before that, we regularly called each other, and Leska was in the know about who was attacking whom, and who was shooting at whom. That is, a normal, adequate person. I didn’t pay attention to Ukrainian news. As we have a tragedy, it rings in tears
– Is it true that they shot at your school and at children? Oh, bald! May you let us all rest with Poroshenko!
Then a break, silence, and then the other day a call from her. I was happy:
– Leska, what, how!? Alive and healthy? We, too!
And in response to me:
- Olya, I’m calling on dial. What about the areas near Donetsk Central? The center of the city is what kind of district?
“Voroshilovsky,” I answer, greatly surprised, “why do you need it, Les?”
- That’s why my plyminnyk pishov is at the ATO, so they took over an apartment near the center, so they can help Russia.
– Lesya, what is Russia like? What apartment? What victory? I live in the center. How do you imagine it? If they come in, will they kill my daughter and me? Or will they be thrown out onto the street? Or will they hand you over to the SBU? Maybe I should look for another place to live, wait for your birthday, give him the keys, leave the champagne? Or how will it be, Lesya? How will your in-law be given an apartment in the center of Donetsk?
- Well, until the end of the war, there will be a war. If you get too excited, then they will give apartments to ATO participants. So it is necessary to avoid being deceived.
To say that I was shocked is to say nothing. For some time I listened to Leska and her reasoning that it would be good to move to Donbass, Donetsk is a beautiful city, clean, our people are wonderful. And if everything works out, they will probably be happy to move. To be honest, it was with difficulty that her words came through, as if from somewhere very far away. Finally, when she finally realized that she was completely serious, she answered:
– No, Lesya, there will be no apartment for your nephew in Donetsk. Do you know what will happen, Lesya? And there will be permanent registration in the Donbass land, two and a half meters deep. That's all he gets here. If you, Lesya, love your nephew, take him away from here by hook or by crook. Otherwise, at best, you will know where he is buried. At worst, you won't hear anything more about him.
- Why are you talking like that? That's it for you! Ta pipun tobi on the tongue. We are fighting against the aggressor!
-Aggressor you say? Lesya, we are here protecting ourselves from your whining. And what if, Lesya, we go on the offensive with the aggressor and drive the flamenecks to Mist Lav! What is it like, Lesya, what is the central district in Lviv? I’ll take myself a trophy apartment,” I reflected on the situation. Lesya got stuck. She was silent on the phone.
- That's it. So?
- Leska, take the boy away from here. Listen to advice.
Second conversation. Also telephone. About registration in Donbass, exactly.
I have a friend Oleg. Pathologist. Graduated from our medical institute. Lives in the territory of Donbass temporarily occupied by Kiev. Works in a morgue. Sometimes we call each other. And on our last call he says:
- It means that an Odvic knight has come to me. Brought by my brothers. Four. While we were getting ready, we started talking. The man is grieving:
- Well, I knew why this would happen? So why would I pull them?
And it turned out the following. The living zakhysnyk's name is Taras. Originally from the town of Ternopil. He persuaded two of those brought in a car with a sign “cargo 200” to go to the ATO. After a month of training, we served for about six months. The day before the tragic events, we celebrated someone’s Narodzhen Day, sat on some of our large-caliber guns (I don’t remember what exactly) and drove off, as it seemed - separating to lick. Well, we drove out onto the hill, fired once, and our large caliber men responded by destroying them the first time. Well, they killed four. Taras, although a knight, kills himself completely sincerely. Oleg took a drop of alcohol to calm down.
- Why, Taras? Ternopil is a cool city. Why do you need Donbass?
- So they got rid of the zhytlo and gave the land to Donbass! We all at once settled down here across the sea! Kazaly, scho district, de zemelku will give, you can get back!
- Taras, maybe you’ll return to your Ternopil alive? Look, the boys have already received their zemelka. Over and above. Maybe him? Return to your family while you're still alive.
- How can I turn around with empty hands????
“Didn’t your comrades teach you anything?” Look over there, they’re all a little lifeless.
- It’s not possible for me to turn around with empty hands!
With that, he left.
Reality
I’ll tell you how it actually happens, using the example of one dialogue on the Ukromam forum. There are screenshots. So. Translation from the language:
«The queue for the ATO officer’s apartment.
Tell me, who has encountered this, where to go to get on the waiting list for housing for Atoshnik, a combat veteran received. They were supposed to allocate a plot of land, but there is some kind of incomprehensibility, bad land... it won’t be possible to build or sell it, and it hasn’t been officially allocated... Now my brother lives in a rented apartment, but there is no written rental agreement, and it’s not registered at all with parents in the village, so tell me who and how resolved such issues and possible nuances, answers like “to a lawyer - do not suggest.”
You are so excitedare you reading? My husband is an officer, more than 25 calendars, but he doesn’t wait in line or for land. I can’t even imagine what kind of connections you need to have to get an apartment. Mine is wounded, injured, awarded. And we don’t even mean anything like that.
Fuck it. Yes, it’s not that I’m directly counting on it, but I just think that we need to knock on all doors, he’s still young, maybe at least there would be children.
You know, unfortunately, my husband went through the Donetsk airport, and Mariupol, and Avdeevka, and was wounded, lost his hearing, had a crack in his spine... I am very persistent in life, but this, as it turned out, is not enough to get some benefits, except for electricity and gas.
But they didn’t give 200000 hryvnia for an injury?
No. In addition to the fact that he signed documents that he was injured at home, and the leave was given to him retroactively. Is there anything else you should open your eyes to?
Why did you sign?
Do you think he signed it from memory? Oh, that’s it... I left here... I can’t remember all this... Thank God that I came back alive. Out of the corner of my eye I read your past optimistic and patriotic topics and comments.
Like this. For four years now, some people still haven’t realized that it’s not worth coming to Donbass for land. Well, perhaps to be buried. But some still believe in the confectioner's fairy tale. Amazing people.
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