August 28, 2014. Mariupol—The main point in a nutshell.

Original article by Gloxy livejournal
Translated by Ley / Edited by O.C.

Now all the talk is that the Ukrainian Army left Novoazovsk. The stories vary from those about “polite people”, to those about heavy armoured columns coming from the neighbouring state; as well as about the National Guard’s night manoeuvres and the early morning shooting on the seaboard. Those who have relatives in Novoazovsk have already been in touch with them, and they are reporting: “Everything was quiet there. Everyone is alive and happy. Nothing to fear.” It reminds me of a queue to a vaccination room in primary school:

– Did it hurt?
– Nope, not a bit!
– Next, please!

It seems that nobody can do a thing without being noticed in this town. For instance, it is already known which multi-storey buildings are occupied by snipers on the roofs. Since the morning, “liberators” has been mining the bridges across the Kalmius River, which connect the Left Bank with the rest of the city, and that is already known to the world over due to the vigilant citizens, who have set warnings on the military map, not taking into account certain communities on social networks.

Well, if the bridges (two of them) are already mined, it means the Ukraininan Army wants to cut off the main part of the city from the Left Bank, from where the DPR Militia is, in fact, advancing. Presumably, though they do blow up the bridges, it would not help them to cut off the “dangerous” district from the city. If even I, a girl, know three more little-known Kalmius crossings, then there are at least more than six of them. Therefore, mining will only slow the offensive down a bit, but not stop it. Here I am sitting and musing about bridges and rivers right on the Left Bank, while I have to go home to the Right Bank. Thus, if the bridges go up in flames by the end of my working day, I will have to seek those very same “little-known crossings” or ford the Kalmius.

The alarm sirens in the city are being checked right now. Even in the Amstor (a large local supermarket), they have carried out a drill: set an alarm, warned everybody inside the building, then evacuated the people in an organized way. Those watching it—and, a fortiori, participating in it—were deeply impressed.

Well, what else from the city news… Ah! There was a huge Ukrainian flag on the Drama Theatre—it has been removed, they say. They did the same with the other flags at some strategic locations in the city. I wonder if they are going to recolour fences and garbage bins as well. So will they, maybe, restore the Lenin monuments? Speaking of Lenin, by the way—or rather, about what is left of him—today the people will gather for a meeting in the very place where, now, the pedestal is empty. On the agenda: “Is there life on Mars?” To say our unanimous “NO!” to an invasion of terrorists into our city! I will pass by—I will know who has been there, what has been said and who is “a terrorist” now…

Those who have been to the bus station are saying it is impossible to get to Donetsk. They said a few regular buses have started running again, so the people are rushing back to their homes. At the same time, there is heavy traffic on the highway to Donetsk. The queue out of the city takes three hours, and into the city—one hour. Where are those telling us that the situation in the city is stable and that there is no reason for panic? They were the first ones to flee. It seems the directors of city enterprises have fled as well. Wherever we call today—the answer is that the management has been absent already for two days and nobody knows when it is going to come back. The same with the police. Glory be! It seems a city without directors has appeared on the planet earth!

Apparently, the soldiers of Lyashko and Mosiychuk (i.e. “Azov” battalion) are likely to retreat in a hurry. They left their crumpled Jihad-mobiles and drove away in the only working ambulance—without even shouting “Glory to Ukraine!” I wonder whether they will come back, or have they left to “liberate” yet other cities?

Meanwhile, we have the propaganda classes were restored. Calling people “separatists” has gone quiet, and the order to everyone is “to bow down to Putin”.