Reportage
In the Donetsk region, diving into the heart of the trenches against the Ukrainians
Trench of Russian and pro-Russian forces on the front line north of Donetsk opposite Ukrainian positions.
© Anissa El Jabri
Text by: Anissa El Jabri Follow
2 mins
On the northern front of Donetsk where the clashes between Russians and pro-Russians against the Ukrainians take place, the fortress of Avdiivka, held by soldiers from Ukraine, is still there, still unreachable.
Report a few hundred meters from the front line, to the north, with pro-Russian forces.
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From our special correspondent in the Donetsk region,
A noise of ammunition reloading is heard: it is a relatively calm day when we hear the birds but the weapons are all loaded.
Silence on the open path leaving the military base then we progress in the forest at a distance from each other, we watch where we put our feet.
One of the pro-Russian soldiers says: “
Do you see there in this green forest?
It is a difficult barrier to cross.
With anti-personnel mines but also, more basic things: branches, nails and barbed wire.
»
Behind this barely visible barrier in the branches, the last trunks, then the plain above the treetops, the most often invisible enemy, the drones.
The soldier knows them well: “
I can't say for sure if there are any above us at the moment.
If they're flying low, maybe we'll hear them.
But they are very difficult to notice, very difficult.
When it's flying low, you hear them buzzing, and then you can shoot them down.
»
Less than a kilometer away, the first Ukrainian trenches before Avdiïvka, the entrenched fortress.
“
We don't fucking know how many there are… but there are many, many.
See, there, these are our positions, our buried trenches, and there, the embrasures.
This is where it shoots, so suddenly they attack.
We watch all the time.
We live here
, ”says another infantryman.
Bullets fly.
On a calm day, sometimes a skirmish, on more complicated days, exchanges of fire and Ukrainian shelling.
About ten days ago, many of these reached downtown Donetsk, causing civilian deaths and injuries.
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To read also: In the conquered territories of southern Ukraine, Russification in rapid steps
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