Russo-Ukrainian war: burning ruins and abandoned civilians, the sad scene in the Donbas region

Under the ruins of what Bilogorivka school, in the Ukrainian Donbas, still smoking basement a week after the bombing described by kyiv authorities as one of the worst crimes made by the Russian army since the beginning of its invasion, on February 24.

On May 7, 60 civilians were killed at the school of this village, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Bilogorivka ay Witness the fierce battle fought in this corner of the Lugansk region, which together with Donetsk forms the Donbas, the pro-Russian separatist region challenging kyiv.

In the village, almost gone, some buildings are still burningthe roads were full of abandoned military equipment and artillery gunfire could be heard nearby.

For the first time in a week, Vladimir Gerasimenko emerged from the basement where he was confined, taking advantage of the brief break from the fighting. You don’t believe what you see.

“The world has been turned upside down,” said this 70-year-old man, looking at the ruins of the school, built in the mining village by Soviet authorities after World War II.

“Slavs kill Slavs. Who knows why or for what?” He wonders.

bombed schools

Bombing of schools – many of which have been turned into shelters for Ukraine’s civilians and military – has become frequent in these combat zones.

At a Security Council meeting on Thursday, the UN called for the bombing of these establishments to be stopped and condemned their use for military purposes.

Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, called the accusations that Moscow deliberately targeted schools “absurd.”

In Bilogorivka, no trace of life or body, even in the least affected part of the basement. The attack left a large hole in the center of the building. The only thing left is a gold thermal survival cover.

According to regional governor Sergei Gaidai the day after the bombing, 27 people could be rescued.

The attack came as the Russians tried for three weeks to cross the now strategic Siverskyi Donets River, which flows north of Bilogorika.

Ukrainian forces claim to have stopped some Russian advance, but the military sent by Moscow crossed the river westward as part of its push towards Kramatorsk, the de facto capital of the Donbas part that is still under control. of Ukrainian.

However, the Ukrainian counter-offensive in Bilogorivka they were prevented from completely surrounding the twin cities of Severodonetsk and Lisichansk, which are now almost deserted, deprived of water and essential services.

They were the last big stronghold of the Ukrainian resistance in this region of Lugansk.

“I will go, but no one will help me escape,” said Margarita Kovalenko, a neighbor of Gerasimenko.

“As far as I know, there are only four of us left on this street,” added Olga, Gerasimenko’s wife. “The three of us, who always stay in the basement, and a young man at the end of the street.”

permanent capture

Russian soldiers could not be seen in Bilogorivka, although gunshots could still be heard from the hills north of the town.

A car full of Ukrainian soldiers stopped after passing through an abandoned checkpoint. The men stood quietly, placed their weapons on the open car doors, and watched any movement on the other end of the street.

Gerasimenko, an engineer by training, admitted that he would be safer if the Russians occupied the town.

“The Russians helped the Luhansk and Donetsk regions during the most difficult period,” he said, referring to the last eight years of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict over control of the region, a reflection of frequent pro-Russian sentiment in this area. of the Donbas. .

Source: AFP

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