AFP - © Aris Messinis
Ninety-year-old Raisa Simanovna still sleeps in her flat on the frontline in eastern Ukraine but goes down into the cellar in the daytime to shelter from the ever more intense shelling and mortar fire.
© Aris Messinis
People have to constantly try and repair windows broken by the fighting, which threatens to escalate with Russia's recognition of the separatists
Located in territory held by Ukrainian forces on the border with the separatist Lugansk republic backed by Russia, the town of Schastya -- which means "happiness" -- has been a symbol of promise in a conflict which began in 2014.
© Aris Messinis
Located in territory held by Ukrainian forces on the border with the separatist Lugansk republic backed by Russia, the town of Schastya -- which means "happiness" -- has been a symbol of promise in a conflict which began in 2014.
© Aris Messinis
Shells were exploding near the local power plant near the frontline in eastern Ukraine's separatist war
Before it was closed down due to Covid restrictions, the bridge over the Donetsk, the river that flows through the town, was one of the rare crossing points between the two sides.
The town is once again on a volatile frontline following President Vladimir Putin's move to recognise the separatist self-proclaimed republics of Lugansk and Donetsk and order Russian troops in.
And the Soviet-era apartment block in which Simanovna lives is on a canal that connects to the river, right on that frontline.
"We are expecting war any hour, any minute," said the pensioner, her face wrapped in a scarlet-coloured kerchief as she descended into the cellar with an electric torch in hand.
The electricity, heating and water in her building have been cut off after shelling hit the town's power supply.
Like the few neighbours she has left, Simanovna has nowhere to go. Out of the 10 flats in her part of the building, only three are occupied.
- 'We weren't expecting this' -
In the night between Monday and Tuesday, the area came under fire and residents could be seen cleaning up the damage.
Valentina Shmatkova, 59, said she was woken up by all the windows in her two-room apartment shattering.
"We spent the war in the basement," she said while clearing up her flat, referring to the most intense years of the conflict between 2014 and 2016.
"But we weren't expecting this. We never thought Ukraine and Russia wouldn't end up agreeing.
"I didn't think there would be a conflict. I thought our president and the Russian president were intelligent and reasonable people," she said.
"I have one request: that they sort this out and we can forget about this misunderstanding!"
Asked what she thought of Putin's decision to recognise the separatists, Shmatkova laughed: "I have no idea what's going on, we have no light, no electricity, nothing!"
- 'We have to leave' -
The shelling and mortar fire gradually intensified as the day progressed. Deafening explosions began shaking the walls and set off car alarms.
Black smoke could be seen billowing from the local power station after it took a hit.
"They're aiming for the bridge," one man said calmly as the ground shook under him, before lugging a heavy box to his 4x4.
Nearby, Daniil and his father sat smoking on a bench outside their home.
The younger man, who is unemployed, said he wanted to stay in Schastya despite the lack of jobs but Putin's speech would change things.
"They recognised the republics and, if they recognised the republics, that means there will be an escalation. And if there is an escalation, that means we have to leave."
tbm/dt/zak/yad
Before it was closed down due to Covid restrictions, the bridge over the Donetsk, the river that flows through the town, was one of the rare crossing points between the two sides.
The town is once again on a volatile frontline following President Vladimir Putin's move to recognise the separatist self-proclaimed republics of Lugansk and Donetsk and order Russian troops in.
And the Soviet-era apartment block in which Simanovna lives is on a canal that connects to the river, right on that frontline.
"We are expecting war any hour, any minute," said the pensioner, her face wrapped in a scarlet-coloured kerchief as she descended into the cellar with an electric torch in hand.
The electricity, heating and water in her building have been cut off after shelling hit the town's power supply.
Like the few neighbours she has left, Simanovna has nowhere to go. Out of the 10 flats in her part of the building, only three are occupied.
- 'We weren't expecting this' -
In the night between Monday and Tuesday, the area came under fire and residents could be seen cleaning up the damage.
Valentina Shmatkova, 59, said she was woken up by all the windows in her two-room apartment shattering.
"We spent the war in the basement," she said while clearing up her flat, referring to the most intense years of the conflict between 2014 and 2016.
"But we weren't expecting this. We never thought Ukraine and Russia wouldn't end up agreeing.
"I didn't think there would be a conflict. I thought our president and the Russian president were intelligent and reasonable people," she said.
"I have one request: that they sort this out and we can forget about this misunderstanding!"
Asked what she thought of Putin's decision to recognise the separatists, Shmatkova laughed: "I have no idea what's going on, we have no light, no electricity, nothing!"
- 'We have to leave' -
The shelling and mortar fire gradually intensified as the day progressed. Deafening explosions began shaking the walls and set off car alarms.
Black smoke could be seen billowing from the local power station after it took a hit.
"They're aiming for the bridge," one man said calmly as the ground shook under him, before lugging a heavy box to his 4x4.
Nearby, Daniil and his father sat smoking on a bench outside their home.
The younger man, who is unemployed, said he wanted to stay in Schastya despite the lack of jobs but Putin's speech would change things.
"They recognised the republics and, if they recognised the republics, that means there will be an escalation. And if there is an escalation, that means we have to leave."
tbm/dt/zak/yad
CHEERLEADERS FOR WAR
Russian lawmakers lavish Putin with praise after rebel recognition
Members of the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, applaud after voting to ratify President Vladimir Putin's agreements with east Ukraine's separatist republics
Russian lawmakers lavish Putin with praise after rebel recognition
Members of the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, applaud after voting to ratify President Vladimir Putin's agreements with east Ukraine's separatist republics
(AFP/Handout)
Ola CICHOWLAS
Tue, February 22, 2022,
Russian lawmakers lined up Tuesday to lavish President Vladimir Putin with praise for recognising east Ukraine's rebel territories, in a show of loyalty as they unanimously voted to ratify the Kremlin's deals with the separatists.
Lawmakers took to the tribunes to defend Putin's move in ultra-patriotic speeches and broke into applause as they approved the agreements, which give legal cover for Russian troops to be sent in to Ukraine.
Not a single lawmaker in the lower or upper houses of parliament -- the Duma and the Federation Council -- voted against the deals with the Donetsk and Lugansk separatists.
In scenes reminiscent of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, the lawmakers presented Putin's move as a major victory and backed dubious historical theories made in his national address the night before.
"Let's thank the president for his bravery, for his responsible position," Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said as he opened the voting session.
A day earlier, Putin announced he was recognising the rebel republics.
The longtime leader did so at the end of an hour-long speech heavy in murky historical references.
He claimed Ukraine was "entirely created by Russia" and questioned Kyiv's right to statehood throughout his address.
Several hours later, he ordered the Russian army to send troops to eastern Ukraine to "maintain peace".
- 'Not scared of sanctions' -
As Western countries announced new sanctions against Moscow throughout the day, lawmakers said Moscow was being unfairly punished for correcting a historical injustice.
"Moscow is not scared of any sanctions," Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told lawmakers as he presented the deals in parliament.
Even as Russian stock markets were hit and the ruble tanked to almost 80 to a dollar, Duma speaker Volodin called on Russians to "believe in our national currency."
At one point, it seemed that one lawmaker had not voted in favour of ratifying a deal with the Lugansk People's Republic, with the Duma's voting results screen showing 399 out of 400 for it.
But soon afterwards, Communist MP Oleg Smolin owned up that he had not pressed the button in time and that he was indeed in favour.
The sessions included some of Russia's most vehemently anti-Western public speakers that have sat in parliament for years -- even decades -- within the so-called "systemic opposition" that challenges Putin domestically but supports his foreign policy.
"NATO holds us by the throat," 77-year-old Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov said in an angry speech defending Putin.
- 'What has Russia done wrong?' -
Among those who took the floor was Andrei Lugovoi -- a nationalist MP who British police believe is a suspect in the 2006 poisoning of former agent Alexander Litvinenko in London.
Lugovoi, who the UK has tried and failed to extradite to London, said that Russia "spits on the opinion of the West".
When the vote went from the Duma to the Federation Council, the upper chamber's speaker Valentina Matvienko seemed to have tears in her eyes as the deals were ratified.
"I assure you that we are ready for (Western) sanctions," she said after the vote.
A day earlier, she had been the only woman to participate in a highly unusual Kremlin security council meeting, in which officials made impassioned speeches to Putin to recognise the rebels.
When it was her turn, 72-year-old Matvienko, who was born in Ukraine, asked: "What has Russia done wrong to Ukraine in 30 years?"
oc/dt/pvh
Ola CICHOWLAS
Tue, February 22, 2022,
Russian lawmakers lined up Tuesday to lavish President Vladimir Putin with praise for recognising east Ukraine's rebel territories, in a show of loyalty as they unanimously voted to ratify the Kremlin's deals with the separatists.
Lawmakers took to the tribunes to defend Putin's move in ultra-patriotic speeches and broke into applause as they approved the agreements, which give legal cover for Russian troops to be sent in to Ukraine.
Not a single lawmaker in the lower or upper houses of parliament -- the Duma and the Federation Council -- voted against the deals with the Donetsk and Lugansk separatists.
In scenes reminiscent of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, the lawmakers presented Putin's move as a major victory and backed dubious historical theories made in his national address the night before.
"Let's thank the president for his bravery, for his responsible position," Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said as he opened the voting session.
A day earlier, Putin announced he was recognising the rebel republics.
The longtime leader did so at the end of an hour-long speech heavy in murky historical references.
He claimed Ukraine was "entirely created by Russia" and questioned Kyiv's right to statehood throughout his address.
Several hours later, he ordered the Russian army to send troops to eastern Ukraine to "maintain peace".
- 'Not scared of sanctions' -
As Western countries announced new sanctions against Moscow throughout the day, lawmakers said Moscow was being unfairly punished for correcting a historical injustice.
"Moscow is not scared of any sanctions," Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told lawmakers as he presented the deals in parliament.
Even as Russian stock markets were hit and the ruble tanked to almost 80 to a dollar, Duma speaker Volodin called on Russians to "believe in our national currency."
At one point, it seemed that one lawmaker had not voted in favour of ratifying a deal with the Lugansk People's Republic, with the Duma's voting results screen showing 399 out of 400 for it.
But soon afterwards, Communist MP Oleg Smolin owned up that he had not pressed the button in time and that he was indeed in favour.
The sessions included some of Russia's most vehemently anti-Western public speakers that have sat in parliament for years -- even decades -- within the so-called "systemic opposition" that challenges Putin domestically but supports his foreign policy.
"NATO holds us by the throat," 77-year-old Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov said in an angry speech defending Putin.
- 'What has Russia done wrong?' -
Among those who took the floor was Andrei Lugovoi -- a nationalist MP who British police believe is a suspect in the 2006 poisoning of former agent Alexander Litvinenko in London.
Lugovoi, who the UK has tried and failed to extradite to London, said that Russia "spits on the opinion of the West".
When the vote went from the Duma to the Federation Council, the upper chamber's speaker Valentina Matvienko seemed to have tears in her eyes as the deals were ratified.
"I assure you that we are ready for (Western) sanctions," she said after the vote.
A day earlier, she had been the only woman to participate in a highly unusual Kremlin security council meeting, in which officials made impassioned speeches to Putin to recognise the rebels.
When it was her turn, 72-year-old Matvienko, who was born in Ukraine, asked: "What has Russia done wrong to Ukraine in 30 years?"
oc/dt/pvh
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