Ukraine: the mayor of Kramatorsk assures him, his city will defend itself

Audio 01:19

Oleksandr Goncharenko, mayor of Kramatorsk.

© RFI/Clea Broadhurst

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

Russian troops entered the town of Kreminna in eastern Ukraine on Monday, April 18, 2022, about fifty kilometers from Kramatorsk, the Ukrainian capital of Donbass and one of Moscow's targets in this region.

On the spot, meeting with the mayor of the city.

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With our special correspondents in Kramatorsk,

Since the beginning of the conflict, three quarters of the population of Kramatorsk have left the city.

For Oleksandr Goncharenko, the mayor of this normally peaceful small town, the price of war is heavy, but Kramatorsk is preparing in case of a Russian offensive.

We need to stock up on enough medicine, food and water, in case the roads that supply us become blocked.

The Russians are coming through Izium, 70 kilometers away, and want to cut us off from central Ukraine

Oleksandr Goncharenko says he has enough to last at least two months.

Its priority is to protect its population, especially since, according to him, Russian attacks have directly targeted civilians from the start.

There were no soldiers at the station, for example, only civilians.

Maybe they wanted to sow panic... or just destroy our evacuation center to make it more difficult for us.

This missile had a target, we cannot speak of a firing error.

All the strikes that fell in Kramatorsk were on civilian buildings.

No one is immune.

Sitting here?

No one is protected, it can happen anywhere.

At the town hall of Kramatorsk, stocks of provisions are accumulating in case the city falls into the hands of Russian troops.

© RFI/Clea Broadhurst

Residents of Kramatorsk wondered what was the price to pay, between losing their homes or losing their lives.

Oleksandr Goncharenko believes that those who remain will fight until the end.

►Read again: In Kramatorsk in the Donbass, these Ukrainians who decided to stay

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