Relatives of a deceased Ukrainian soldier in Mykolaiv tear up during the funeral, at the Western Cemetery in Odessa. /
The Ukrainian capital receives the announcement from Moscow about the reduction of operations on this front between explosions, opening of markets and dismissals at the station
While in Istanbul Ukrainians and Russians were negotiating a way out of the war, to the north of kyiv displaced persons continued to arrive from Irpin, Bucha or Hostomel, the three great open fronts, the three great defensive barriers that the Russian forces have not been able to overcome after a month of intense fighting. Moscow’s announcement about the “drastic reduction of military activity in the kyiv and Chernigov areas” as a sign of good intentions to advance the dialogue reached kyiv amid artillery explosions. In the post-truth era, if war is a “special operation” for the Kremlin, withdrawal is a “drastic reduction” in its war activity.
“It’s a closed area, you can’t go through it because it’s dangerous.” It was the notice of those responsible for guarding the only access to the Irpin bridge. The mayor of the city, located at the gates of the capital, announced his release on Sunday. But, 48 hours later, the passage was still blocked and the announcements from Istanbul, silenced by the detonations. Some neighbors received special permission from the Police to see their houses, but they were very few and they returned quickly.
In mid-afternoon, US intelligence services confirmed the withdrawal of some Russian units from northern kyiv and the Ministry of Defense claimed that it was due “to their complete inability to go ahead with the offensive.” What Putin presents as a “drastic reduction” is not the ceasefire that the Ukrainians are demanding, but it could be considered a first step. kyiv’s counteroffensive has forced Moscow to negotiate from a weaker position than if it had had the capital besieged, as it originally planned. There has been no fence and the constant logistical problems, added to the ambushes of the local special forces, force him to back down.
With the enemy more or less close, the mayor’s office of the capital continues with its policy of trying to recover a certain normality. After primary and secondary students returned to virtual classrooms, he announced the reopening of street markets in at least five neighborhoods. The absence of attacks in recent days inside the city has had a soothing effect on some Kievites who, for the first time in a month, regained the feeling of being able to shop outdoors at farmers’ and butchers’ stalls. coming from the rural ring that surrounds the city.
“We have not raised prices, on the contrary. We sell something cheaper because we know that people now have needs, their work fails and they lack income, ”says Victor, a butcher who comes from a village northwest of kyiv, in the middle of the fighting zone. He sells pieces of calves and pigs that he raises and slaughters on his farm. He feels “happy to be able to see some of my lifelong clients who have decided to stay, this is half empty if you compare it to what it was before, but it is a first step and a sign that we resist and they will not defeat us”, he says, knife in hand, making loins from a piece of pink meat.
Without fear
No photos. The neighbors distrust the foreign press and fear that it works in the service of the enemy. Here you can buy from fresh meat to all kinds of sausages and cheeses. There is also a stall with vegetables, another with fruit and two with underwear and socks. There is no fear in the streets, not even the threat of a new nuclear disaster spread after the seizure of Chernobyl by the Russians sowed panic among the Kievites who have chosen to stay. This is a global threat and the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, traveled to Ukraine “to hold talks with government officials” in order to provide “technical assistance” to guarantee the security of the facilities. In Grossi’s words, “the military conflict poses an unprecedented danger.”
If Russia keeps its word, calm will return to Chernobyl and its surroundings. Whether he does or not, soldiers and volunteers of the Ukrainian Army maintain their positions defending the capital. Like the markets in the streets or the return to school from a distance, the farewells are also part of the new ‘abnormality’ established in kyiv. Camila hugs Antón, who can handle the little girl and her assault rifle. The girl is four years old and she takes advantage of every second that is missing before the departure of the train at the central station in the arms of her father. Camila travels with her mother to Poland. Her father, a truck driver who has left the wheel to enlist, returns to the Irpin front, where he has been stationed for a month. Camila knows nothing of a “drastic reduction” in Russian activities. She whimpers because since February 24 there has been a drastic change in her life that forces her to separate from her father.
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