Slavyansk, June 13 (Navigator, Victoria Litovchenko) – The new “people’s mayor” of Slavyansk, Vladimir Pavlenko, believes that the situation in Slavyansk could turn into a disaster, including an environmental one for the Sea of Azov.
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According to Pavlenko, more than 60 thousand residents remain in the city. Among them are three thousand children. “Perhaps a few thousand more will leave, but more than 50 thousand will remain here. People don’t want to leave their hometown, abandon their apartments and houses. Some have nowhere to go, some have nothing. So the city is not empty. All public services are working - and these are also people, hospitals are working - doctors are also people. And so on,” he said in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda.
He noted that the city has two main problems: electricity and water.
“During the shelling on June 8, four high-voltage power lines were destroyed. To restore here, a specialized team from Donetsk is needed. For two days we negotiated with everyone we could to ensure the safety of this brigade. Yesterday the brigade arrived on the outskirts of Slavyansk, in the area of the post on Bylbasovka. The National Guard said that mines were placed at the work site, which is not true. They just didn’t want to let the repair team through. Negotiations have started again because electricity is key. If there is no water, no water, no water, the sewage system does not work. All this can lead to an environmental disaster, not only for the city, but also for several regions. Including the Azov Sea basin. The Torets River passes through Slavyansk, flows into the Donets, then into the Don and into the Sea of Azov. Without electricity, we are unable to pump wastewater into settling tanks where it is cleaned. Therefore, all this will end up in the river system and go downstream. And now it’s summer, it’s hot, any infection can appear,” said Pavlenko.
“For the last two weeks, the National Guard and the Ukrainian army have stopped allowing food products into Slavyansk. Shops are closing and food supply is problematic. For now the city is secure, but it’s already becoming difficult. Fuel is also a primary problem. Fuel trucks are also not allowed through here,” said the “people’s mayor.”
According to Pavlenko, 150-200 people are taken out every day, and with great difficulty, they are still released.
As Navigator reported, a few days ago, by order of the DPR Minister of Defense Igor Strelkov, the “people’s mayor” of the city, Vyacheslav Ponomarev, was removed from his post.