DONETSK, Ukraine - Thick plumes of black smoke are rising over the Donetsk airport, controlled by the Ukrainian forces. It's been burning for two days, and shooting has continued in both directions between rebel positions and the army.
Just 400 meters away
from the airport, militants of Donetsk People’s Republic, laugh out
loud at the idea that there should be a cease-fire in that area, as
per Sept. 5 multilateral agreements in Minsk signed by
representatives of Ukraine, Russia, OSCE and Donestk and Luhansk
People’s Republics.
“Cease-fire?
What cease-fire?” said Denis, a DNR
fighter stationed just outside the airport.
Ukrainian forces retook the airport in
May and since then it has been a fetish
object for both sides.There has rarely been a day
without fights for the airport despite the fact that it is almost
useless since its runway was rendered unusable by
heavy shelling.
The airport, however, is located only
9.4 kilometers from the center of Donetsk, making it a powerful
symbol of Ukrainian military presence on the edge of the city.
“The enemy is in the middle of the
city. We have to get rid of them,” said Denis from the now
fortified bridge leading to the airport reconstructed
for the Euro 2012 football championship at the
cost of more than Hr 3.2 billion.
Ukrainian authorities blame
the separatists for violating cease-fire and attempting to take over
new ground, despite a new agreement over the weekend, under which
both sides are supposed to be withdrawing.
“Yesterday fighters made several
attempt to storm our positions in the vicinity,” said spokesman for
the Ukrainian Security Council Andriy Lysenko adding that “all
attacks were repulsed.”
DNR fighters stationed outside of the
airport, however, deny attempting to take the airport and say they
simply return fire when fired upon.
“They fire and we return fire in the
same volume. If we know the position we return fire immediately.
If we don’t, we scout it out with drones first,” said Denis,
who declined to give his last name.
So far Ukrainian forces remain
determined to defend the Donetsk airport after having pulled out of
the Luhansk airport at the beginning of September. They are also in a
better position to defend it.
“The Luhansk airport was
between Donetsk and Luhansk and surrounded by separatist forces, but
the Donetsk airport is at the front of the Ukrainian position,”
said military expert Viacheslav Tseluiko.
Under a memorandum agreed to by both
the Ukrainian government and the rebels on Sept.
19, a 30km (19-mile) buffer zone is supposed to be created where no heavy artillery would be allowed. If it is followed the protocol
would not only mean removing Ukrainian artillery from the Donetsk
airport, but also rebel artillery from Donetsk.
For now though fighting continues and separatists outside of the
airport say they see no sign
of the Ukrainian numbers at the airport decreasing.
“With the ceasefire they are firing
less into the city. That is something,” said Denis, referring to
Grad rocket strikes that have hit medical facilities and apartment
blocks in Donetsk.
Editor’s Note: This article has been produced with support from www.mymedia.org.ua, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and implemented by a joint venture between NIRAS and BBC Media Action, as well as Ukraine Media Project, managed by Internews and funded by the United States Agency for International Development.
