Mariupol was dyed orange and black today, with ” the inhabitants who showed from their homes or wore the St. George’s ribbon, banned by the Kiev authorities in 2015 ”. And if “the military parade was postponed for security reasons at the end of the fighting”, about “two thousand people attended the ceremony during which the eternal flame was rekindled in memory of the fallen of the Great Patriotic War, the Second War world”. Vittorio Rangeloni from Lecco tells Adnkronos, who has lived in Donetsk for seven years and went to Mariupol this morning to participate in the demonstrations.
A “deeply felt” event led by Denis Pushilin, leader of the self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk, and which recorded “in the background several explosions from the Azovstal steel mills”, where the Ukrainian soldiers of the Avoz battalion are barricaded. ” Now people no longer pay attention to it, the clashes are limited to the industrial area ” and have not ruined what was experienced as ” a day of celebration, an important anniversary ”, says Rangeloni, close to the militias pro-Russian of Donbass.
Also present at the ceremony were “two deputies who arrived from Moscow” in addition to Pushilin, to whom “” the population presented a series of practical requests regarding the reconstruction of the city. For example, they asked when the electricity and gas will be reconnected ”.
What Rangeloni, author of the book ‘My war chronicles’ describes, is a Mariupol with ” the streets completely cleared of rubble, vehicle wrecks, fragments of bombs and missiles ”, while ” we work to restore the buildings to safety “. The population, he argues, has” great hope “. Because despite” the explosions coming from the Azovstal show that the conflict is not over yet “, in Mariupol” people want to believe that the city will be rebuilt. Hope is strong, there is a great desire for peace. ”
Meanwhile, says Rangeloni, in the city ” there is a less invasive military presence than in the past, which represents a signal that peace is returning and that the conflict can be left behind. The bulk of the Russian military forces that were present in Mariupol have in fact been moved to other fronts ”. For the future, the local population has accepted from the authorities the promise that Mariupol will be rebuilt better than it was before. It will also aim to transform the city, focusing on its tourist potential given by the view of the Black Sea ”.
For the fate of Azovstal, according to Rangeloni, we will have to wait ” for the next few days. The Ukrainian presence inside the plant is under the control of the Russian military and militia. And since there seems to be no way out, there is no rush. ” In short, “in order not to risk, not to put human lives at risk, we can afford to wait”. With an ending that, even according to the pro-Russians, does not include the option of surrender by the Azov regiment.
” I doubt they will give up – says Rangeloni – They tried to stall with the planning of the evacuations of civilians, but I don’t think they have a way out. They turned to the international community up to the Pope, but I think Kiev has also shown that it is not so interested in doing everything to save its military. ” In short, he concludes, ” I have the impression that a sacrifice will be made to create this myth of resistance and invincibles. Narration that would fail if they lay down their weapons ”.
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