Under Fire from Ukraine and Misperceived by the West, The People of the DPR Share Their Stories
DPR Peoples Militia Platoon Commander Ryka. Photo | Eva Bartlett
October 16, 2019, Mint Press News
Zaitsevo
From Frontline Village of Krutaya Balka, Where Residents Under Constant Ukrainian Machine Gun Fire, Sniping, Bombing
The other day I went to Krutaya Balka, a frontline village N of Donetsk and just outside of Yasinovataya. Around 15 people (mostly elderly) remain in this village, under Ukrainian shelling & heavy machine gun fire.
I spoke with those I could find at home while I was there. All told me they were constantly being assaulted by Ukrainian forces) by heavy machine gun fire and shelling. The machine gun fire not only punctures the walls but also can set fire to the roof, thus the whole house.
DPR Defender: “(Ukraine’s) biggest mistake here was using weapons against civilians”
Recently, I visited Zaitsevo, a village in the north of the Donetsk People’s Republic. It has been relentlessly shelled by Ukrainian forces/paramilitaries since 2014, and continues to be bombed nearly every day and night.
The population has dropped from 3,500 to 1,600, including 200 children.
With me was Dmitry Astrakhan, press officer of the DPR People’s Militia, and a People’s Militia officer going by the nickname “Gyurza”.
DPR Village Resident Says Ukrainian Bombings Destroying Homes Street By Street
Zaitsevo, a village in the north of the Donetsk People’s Republic, has been relentlessly shelled by Ukrainian forces/paramilitaries since 2014, and continues to be bombed nearly every day and night.
The population has dropped from 3,500 to 1,600, including 200 children.
I interviewed Irina Dikun, head of the administration of Zaitsevo, who spoke at length on the terror civilians have faced over the years and continue to face with the Ukrainian bombing that erupts nearly every single night, targeting civilian homes and village infrastructure.
Zaitsevo resident: “We are not living, we are surviving”
Yesterday, I was able to visit areas on the outskirts of Gorlovka: mine 6/7 and Zaitsevo, both hard-hit by incessant Ukrainian shelling. Civilians are suffering immensely there, to the silence of Western corporate media.
En route to these areas, Dmitri, press officer of the DPR People’s Militia, gave me this advice:
-When you hear the whistle of a mortar, drop down immediately–to avoid the spray of shrapnel.
-Don’t go off the road; most areas haven’t been checked for unexploded ordnance.
MAJOR: 15 Civilians wounded in Ukrainian shelling of Gorlovka, Donbass – Mayor reports
The latest reports have come in from Horlovka, Donbass, indicating that around 15 peaceful, law-abiding residents have been harmed by the shelling of Kiev’s forces. The civilians were wounded as part of Kiev’s latest May Offensive, which cynically occurred as U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine, Kurt Volker visited the front lines.