image copyrightBBC/Moose Campbell
The fact that Slavyansk is dangerous is obvious from the very beginning. “If I say ‘run’, run,” says Tatyana. Together with colleague Yasha, they accompany us to the city, which is now constantly under attack from Russian drones, missiles and glide bombs.
(This is a translation of a BBC correspondent's material. The original in English can be read here).
When we enter the city, it is cloudy, overcast and raining. The military accompanying us call it good weather - in the sense that it is bad for drones.
Nevertheless, the threat remains: Yasha does not take her eyes off the sky, and 21-year-old Tatyana carefully monitors the operational information received on her phone about possible threats from the air.
They serve in a unit of drone operators that calls itself the Peaky Blinders. Their distinctive mark is the type of cap that became popular after the BBC series of the same name. True, they have these caps in camouflage colors.
Slavyansk is one of four cities that are part of the so-called fortress belt of Ukraine: a system of powerful defensive lines in the part of the Donetsk region that remains under the control of Kyiv.
Russia insists that Ukraine surrender these fortified cities. The question of their fate became an important point in negotiations on a possible peace agreement, which, after a nine-month break, resumed in Abu Dhabi with the participation of Ukraine, Russia and the United States.
The Ukrainian side fears that such a step will significantly facilitate the advance of Russian troops further to the west - right up to the capital, Kyiv.
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Once in the city, we leave the cars in a shelter among the trees and continue on foot. Yasha carries a shotgun as a last resort to shoot down a Russian drone. Tatiana explains in broken English that walking is safer than driving.
The streets are full of abandoned cars that have recently survived an attack by Russian FPV (first-person view) drones. Even anti-drone nets stretched over roads do not guarantee safety.
Tatyana shows us a video on her phone that was taken a few days ago.
Drones can be heard buzzing overhead, followed by random small arms fire as the Ukrainian military tries to shoot them down. Tatyana admits that it can be scary, but says that she felt an obligation to help her country - and for this she had to give up her dream of becoming an opera singer.
There is little left of the Slavyansk it used to be. Almost all buildings were damaged, many turned into ruins.
Tatiana shows us a school recently destroyed by Russian glide bombs. On the other side of the road is a gaping hole in an abandoned apartment building. The sidewalk is littered with broken glass. The few shops that are still open are boarded up, making it difficult to tell whether they are even open. Most have closed.
According to Tatyana, the Russians are doing everything they can to intimidate people and force them to leave the city. “That’s their strategy,” she says. - Make people leave in panic, grab their last belongings and flee in horror and suffering. They want people to simply have nowhere to live.”
The picture is familiar; the same thing happened in other cities of Donbass, such as Pokrovsk and Bakhmut. Now they are ghost towns, reduced to ruins and eventually falling into Russian hands.
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Russia has already captured almost 90% of the Donbass region, which includes the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, but this year its military advance has been virtually stopped due to stubborn resistance from the Ukrainian military.
The White House is optimistic about the resumption of negotiations in Abu Dhabi, despite the refusal of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to cede territory.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, October became the bloodiest month for Russian troops since the start of the full-scale invasion: losses amounted to more than 54,000 people killed and wounded. Despite this, Russian forces continue to make life in the cities of the so-called fortress belt almost impossible.
Before the war, the population of Slavyansk exceeded 200 thousand people. Now there are less than 10% of the inhabitants left in the city, and every day there are fewer of them.
But even with the constant wail of air raid sirens, there are signs that people here continue to cling to life. Irina works in one of the few remaining coffee shops in the city. Slavyansk is her hometown.
“I walk around and cry,” she says. “How could they do this?”
Life, she says, has become incredibly difficult. Irina has already lost her home. But, despite the tears, she does not give up: “I will not leave Slavyansk. This is my home."
Inga, 53, was also born and raised here and remains working in the city, despite the danger.
“It's constant stress. To be honest, I don’t even know what to say,” she admits. She does not leave, as she herself admits, because of “fear of the unknown.”
“I simply have nowhere to go, and I don’t have the money to leave and somehow settle in a new place,” she says. In addition, according to her, there is no place in Ukraine that could be considered truly safe.
We first met the Omega National Guard Special Forces drone operator unit two years ago, when they were fighting in the Kharkov region, in northeastern Ukraine. Of the original composition, only four remained in service - the rest transferred to other units, were injured or died. Among the dead was the brother of the unit commander, Alexander, who now calls his fighters his family.
He jokes that they are like the characters from the TV series Peaky Blinders, “only without the crime and drugs.” In the evenings at the base they sit down to dinner together.
Alexander reads a prayer of gratitude for being able to survive another day - according to him, this strengthens the spirit. During meals, classical music is played: it helps to drown out the roar of nearby explosions.
“I think this is the most difficult situation we have ever had to face,” says Alexander, emphasizing how important it is to hold the position.
“We must be here to inflict maximum damage on the enemy. We are fighting here because this is where the most acute phase of the war is. Russia’s assertions that they will reach the borders of Donbass, capture it - and this will end the war, are completely untrue,” he is sure.
The remaining cities of the “belt of fortresses” form a powerful line of defense and become a serious obstacle to any advance of Russian troops. Moreover, due to the huge number of drones in the area, it is now almost impossible for both sides to advance.
Peace talks may have resumed, but, as Alexander notes, they have so far led nowhere.
“I really want this war to end,” he says. - But do I believe that these negotiations will be crowned with success? No, I don’t really believe it.”
image copyrightEPA
We leave Slavyansk the next morning. It’s not just us: there are about ten civilians waiting at the evacuation point to be taken away. They took with them everything they could carry. They are temporarily sent to the bunker: the sounds of small arms are heard, which means that drones are nearby.
The evacuation of civilians is being coordinated by Alina Shirko, herself a resident of Slavyansk.
According to her, over the past few months the situation has rapidly deteriorated. Families with children were ordered to leave the city.
“Everyone is thinking about leaving,” she says. “I think about it too.”
Ukraine still holds Slavyansk, but its lifeblood - its people - is gradually drying up.
The material was prepared with the participation of Rebekia Hartmann, Vladimir Lozhko and Moose Campbell.
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