Russia – Ukraine War
A lasartearra and his family resist in New Odessa
Lasartearra Iñaki Rodríguez Jauregi has reinforced the semi-basement of his house, from which they do not leave, due to the imminence of new attacks. “A fat one is coming,” he warns
«We have been trying to reinforce the semi-basement of the house with wooden and iron pillars, come on, with the few things we have. A fat one is coming. We only pray that it is not as strong as they tell us. Gipuzkoan Iñaki Rodríguez Jauregi and his family have spent the last few hours preparing for what may happen in the face of the advance of Russian troops towards Mikolaiv, located just 40 kilometers south of Nueva Odessa, the municipality from which this family has not managed to escape formed by the lasartearra, his Ukrainian wife, Ana, and their five children, aged between 18 and 5 years.
Despite the incessant bombardment by Kremlin troops, “the Ukrainian resistance is being tough” in defending Mikolaiv, a strategic city “that they are protecting everything” because it is key to controlling southern Ukraine and the outlet to the Black Sea, and where the Soviet Union manufactured its submarines.
Iñaki and his family do not leave the house before the advance of the Russian military, “because there is a lot of risk.” According to the information they receive, they are advancing from the city of Kherson, already in Russian hands, towards Mikolaiv. “We have been nervous tonight. They tell us that they are destroying everything in their path. The bombings are constant », he writes.
The 56-year-old lasasterarra says that with the passing of the hours “more projectiles arrive in the town. During the morning, I saw three missiles pass over it, I suppose they were going to Mikolaiv », he writes recounting« the hell »in which they have tried to survive for three weeks. “What does a missile sound like? Those of today made a noise similar to that of a small plane, but very hissing », he describes. “They were not the same as those I have seen in previous days,” he says by email.
Communications are complicated and for days they have been suffering from longer and longer power outages, which prevents them from being able to heat the house. «During the day it has been two degrees below zero, but the worst thing is the wind. It’s very windy. We are at home frozen with cold », says the Gipuzkoan, who confesses more and more tired and worried about his children. Despite the attempts of his parents, “the children are very scared and nervous,” he lamented.
Faced with the advance of the Kremlin forces, many New Odessa residents have fled in recent days. Iñaki and his family have been caught by the Russian invasion without their own vehicle. “The car broke down in November and there was no opportunity to acquire another,” he explains in writing. “And what’s worse, we’re running out of money. We have 1,200 hryvnias left in cash, which in exchange will be about 30 euros«.
Rodríguez says that neither ATMs nor banks work at the moment, and payments have to be made in cash, at a time when “prices have tripled, in the best of cases.” In New Odessa there is a store “where they bring some things, but not everything they need. We have been days without milk, dairy or fruit.
Hope for a near-escalation resolution is also scarce. The possible agreement between Ukraine and Russia for the cessation of hostilities does not generate “any confidence. What Russia demands for the Ukrainians is like a surrender.
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