Leaving Donetsk “I really don’t think about it, we are not tourists and the government has to understand this. We left, we gave up everything in Italy and we built another life here. Who has a business, who is retired. It’s true , you can go back, but to go where? “. This was stated by an Italian who remained in Donetsk, the main city of the self-proclaimed Republic of the same name in eastern Ukraine recognized by Russia, the scene of a missile attack by Ukrainian forces this morning, which would have caused over 20 deaths.
“I think the missile was shot down. The remains fell almost in the center of the city. A roar was heard that spread throughout Donetsk, who knows what explosive charge it was carrying – he says in an interview with Adnkronos – We immediately searched news on Telegram groups to understand what had happened and where “.
In Donetsk, in addition to the interviewee who preferred not to reveal his identity, another Italian would live, “a pensioner who moved here with his wife, but we don’t feel much. There is certainly a Swiss who moved recent “, he continues, returning to the question of his eventual departure from Donetsk.
“From Donetsk there is only the road to Russia, while on the other side of Ukraine you have to travel a thousand kilometers to get to the border with an EU country. It is a journey with many unknowns, including bombings and checkpoints , it is a risky adventure “, continues the Italian who is not very convinced of returning to our country. “I would have to start all over with two bags and go from a de facto war to a war against bureaucracy.”
The situation in Donetsk, net of this morning’s missile, he points out, is all in all manageable. The goods, unlike the rest of Ukraine where “work has stopped”, are not lacking “because they come from Russia and all the shops are open”. But, he is keen to point out, what is happening in Ukraine today, “we experienced it in 2014”, at the time of the Donbass war. “And in these eight years, few media have dealt with this story.”
On the ongoing conflict, the Italian believes that “disinformation” leads to the perception in the West of a reality different from that actually on the ground. “Everyone is saying that Ukraine is winning this war, but one day maybe the Russians will be present all over Ukraine and then what will they tell us? – he insists – I don’t know how far Russia will go, but it is winning, the big cities are all surrounded and it is true that the soldiers have not entered but it will be part of their plan. “
After 2014, he concludes, in Donetsk “we had to get used to a new life: we switched to the ruble, to Russian laws, we took note of a new reality. But I just want to live in peace and that I don’t drop a missile. ahead”.
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