If this happens, “we all have to leave.” Kremlin delivered a document to the US in which he proposes to have some territories controlled by Ukraine – is a condition to accept a ceasefire fire
Panic in East Ukraine with Trump to ponder the idea of giving riots to Russia
by Nick Paton Walsh, Natalie Wright, Costa Gak e Brice WoolCNN
On the beaches of Sloviansk’s small salty lake, where the medicinal waters allow a moment of rest that contrasts with the constant violence of the front lines a few kilometers, seems dark and surreal to talk about a territory agreement in Alaska Summit, scheduled for Friday.
“I feel like floating away from this reality,” says local journalist Mykhailo between dive in the water. In the sands of the lake, the view is that of a large anti -aircraft shelter of concrete. Near here, from this city that, in a joke, Mykhailo calls “the city of Slovian Salgado Lake”, the bombings are frequent.
However, Kremlin’s proposal delivered to the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, which consists of changing a ceasefire for the Donbass parts that Russia has not yet won, would mean that this city and others nearby can suddenly become Moscow’s territory. And even on this quiet beach, this scenario causes what Mykhailo calls “Panic”.
“Many of my friends want to stay here. But if it happens, we all have to leave,” he says. “But to be frank, I don’t think this will happen.” There is a recognition that high -risk diplomacy, such as Donald Trump is keeping with Russian President Vladimir Putin, can fail.
“Trump acted wrongly. He went to take Putin out of the mud.” He took him out and said ‘Vladimir, I want to talk to you, I like you,’ “reacts Mykailo. “He doesn’t mind that there is Ukrainians to die every day.”
For Ludmila, who moves to the waters in a wheelchair, the salty lake is synonymous with relief. For brief moments, the act of floating provides a relief from the injuries caused when a land mine stepped two years ago. This daily pain makes it unimpressed with diplomacy.
“There they are lying,” he says with disdain. “For them it’s all a spectacle. They decide one thing, they say another, they do another. Politics have always been like this.”
Throughout the Donetsk region, the news of the emerging Witkoff agreement with Kremlin – confused at the details and immediately refused by Kiev – further aggravated the lives already devastated by the war.
The city of Sloviansk was first taken by the “separatists” of Moscow in 2014, before the Ukrainian forces resumed control. New ditches were rolled west, in a hurry, preparing the possibility of the ongoing Russian offensive threatening the city again. However, by these bands, few imagined that the main ally, the United States, could ponder the idea of donating the one that is his home.
In the city’s maternity ward, the only unit of its kind to operate within kilometers, Taisiya caresses the daughter Assol. The baby was born on Sunday, in a world where, suddenly, the risks of being in Sloviansk seem to have multiplied.
“I saw the news,” he says. “It was going to be very bad, but we have no influence. It’s not our decision. People go, simply and simply donate their homes.”
“The war caught them there”
Births continue, the deaths as well. Sofia Lamekhova’s is particularly distressing. The parents, Natalia and Sviatoslav, were happy when she and her husband, Mykyta, decided to go to Kiev with their son-in-nodded son, Lev. “We wanted them to stay away from the front line. Here, in Sloviansk, there are everyday attacks of drone and bombing,” says Sviatoslav.
However, this family was found in the rubble of a Russian air strike on July 31 to a residential building in Kiev. Died during the collapse of the building. Sofia was three months pregnant and was going to Sloviansk to tell the news to her friends.
“They got out of the war. It was quiet there, but the war picked them up there,” says Natalia. Sviatoslav adds, “It is impossible to accept this, it is impossible to accept the loss of a child.”
The night before Sofia’s death had all talked to. “She said she really wanted to come to Sloviansk. To tell the news to everyone, to spread the joy. But they didn’t come back. They came back together, in a different way,” recalls Natalia.
Sofia’s mother refers to the family’s funeral around Sloviansk. A Ukrainian jet flew over the city while both take care of the flowers that covered themselves from dust on the camps. This couple cannot leave Sloviansk. It is here to your home, where they also give food and water to many other inhabitants – often elderly who live alone and survive from alms.
The nearest train station is Kramatorsk, the capital of Donetsk, controlled by Ukraine. It is a busy city, where civil life remains, among the military who are hosted there. A large air attack knocked down a central building, destroying four floors and reaching the basement. Russian drone attacks are regular. The city sleeps with the urgent question of survival in the context of war – and of war itself.
Kiev’s train reaches the sound of the air strike sirens. There are dozens sitting on the platform, either to greet or replace those arriving from the capital. Tetyan is crying. Her husband, Serhiy, has been fighting since the second day of Russia’s total invasion. He received two days off from the Kostynivka tanks unit, so that he can celebrate his birthday.
While the woman cries, the soldier warns her about her agitation kindly. “It had been better that she had not come,” he says. “Calm.” Tetyana has little interest in the intricacies of Trump’s diplomacy. “Do you know what my dream is? May my husband come home. I don’t care about territories. I just want him to be alive and come home.”
The train goes to return to the capital. There are men to stick their hands on the moving glass windows. There is a girl to record a heart in a closing door. The sirens continue.
