Ukraine: in Chernihiv, border area with Russia and Belarus, the population in uncertainty
A Ukrainian army chaplain blesses members of the armed forces volunteer military units, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, January 29, 2022 (Illustrative image).
AP - Evgeniy Maloletka
Text by: Anastasia Becchio |
Boris Vicith
4 mins
Are the Russian units returning to barracks far from Ukraine, as Moscow claims, or are they “
small rotations
”, as President Zelensky claims?
The tension, in any case, does not fall back to the borders of Ukraine.
Report.
Advertising
Read more
From our special correspondents in Chernihiv
,
Before the United Nations Security Council, the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken accused Moscow of wanting to fabricate an incident, to attack Ukraine.
Russia is also conducting joint military maneuvers with Belarus until Sunday, near the northern borders of Ukraine.
►
To read also
: Crisis in Ukraine: new bombings reported this Friday in the east of the country
Chernihiv
, its 250,000 inhabitants, its churches and monasteries with golden domes listed as UNESCO heritage, could be the first on the road to a Russian military operation from the North.
It is less than 100 km from the Russian and Belarusian borders.
At the Senkivka crossing point, nicknamed “the three sisters”, a route goes to Belarus, another to Russia and finally one to Ukraine.
Chernihiv (Ukraine): the city is at the crossroads of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
In the photo from February 16, 2022, the border post that leads to Belarus.
AFP - SERGEI SUPINSKY
On the Ukrainian side, the number of border guards has been reinforced and intervention teams have been deployed.
This place, which in the days of the Soviet Union and until relatively recently, symbolized the friendship between three states - has become, on the Ukrainian side, the first line of defense.
In Chernihiv itself, there is no evidence of an increased military presence in the town where daily life continues to go on.
Information Warfare Remote Population
The population is trying to distance itself from the information war between Russians and Westerners.
No panic, no hysteria, but we do of course feel concern, generalized anxiety… We hope that Russia will withdraw its men and military equipment from Belarusian territory as soon as the exercises are over, scheduled for Sunday.
► To read also:
in Chernihiv, the population remains calm despite the Russian threat
Local authorities have listed the city's bomb shelters.
An interactive map allows you to locate them on the Internet.
These are essentially cellars, underground private buildings.
900 shelters have been identified: this is insufficient, even in the opinion of local officials.
The authorities are also preparing to retaliate in the event of an attack.
The army recruited some 4,000 civilian volunteers into the Chernihiv Territorial Defense Force, a reserve intended to support the regular army in the event of a Russian invasion.
But the means are lacking.
“
Several countries deliver weapons and military and medical equipment, but for the moment, it has not reached us
”, notes, on condition of anonymity, a member of this territorial defense force.
“
Ukraine has matured, the army has grown stronger
”
About ten kilometers from the Belarusian border, in Slavoutich, a town that was built in the late 1980s to relocate the thousands of employees of the
Chernobyl power plant
, the authorities are drawing up emergency plans, making reservations water and generators.
Mayor Yuri Fomichev is also worried about the emotional state of his constituents in this period of uncertainty... For many, these people have experienced the trauma of having lost everything, of having had to leave their homes after the explosion of the power plant.
But this time, he says, at least we don't feel alone.
“
This moment on the wire that we are experiencing is very delicate.
But we see how the world has united around Ukraine.
I'll be honest, it's very different from what we've seen before, when the European Union, the United States and Great Britain were just raising their concerns.
We see that today, instead of mere statements, we are receiving real support, including weapons
,” says Yuri Fomichev.
The man to continue: “
These countries also said openly what would happen in the event of an attack.
It is a clear positioning.
And this is surely what Ukraine lacked in 2014 so as not to lose part of its territory, see Donbass occupied, Crimea annexed.
But it must be said that Ukraine was also very different at the time.
We have not shown ourselves as a State ready to defend our sovereignty.
But it seems to me that Ukraine has matured a lot over these eight years.
»
►
To read also
: new bombings reported this Friday in the east of the country
“
Ukraine has matured, the army has grown stronger
”.
This is the feeling of veterans of the Donbass war met in Slavoutich, when they were organizing courses in first medical emergency for some young volunteers.
However, the mayor does not have too many illusions: the city is 12 km from the border.
“
In the event of an attack, we will have just enough time to hide in the surrounding forests
,” he said.
► To read also
: the concern of Belarusian exiles in Chernihiv
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_EN
Russia
Ukraine
our selection