DEBALTSEVE, Ukraine - "Hell is over there," said a Kremlin-backed fighter at a checkpoint, pointing to the ruined city of Debalteve, captured from Ukraine by Russian forces and their proxies on Feb. 18.
The soldier’s name is Pavel Kuzorev. He is only 22 and a student of the Donetsk Polytechnic University before he joined the Novorossiya Armed Forces, part of the Russian-led forces that killed at least 66 Ukrainian soldiers during the attack to reclaim the strategic railway hub in Donetsk Oblast. The separatists claim to have killed more than 100 Ukrainian soldiers in the operation.
The only good thing this week about Debaltseve, with a pre-war population of 25,000 people, is the spring weather.
The road to Debaltseve is severely damaged, but not empty, as a convoy of green Ural trucks head to the city. Kuzorev said the trucks are loaded with humanitarian aid for the civilians left behind after the intense battle.
“We are providing them with essential aid,” Kuzorev said proudly. “It’s something the Ukrainians didn’t do while they controlled it.”
The Russians worked hard to regain control of Debaltseve. They launched a fierce offensive in mid-January, forcing the Ukrainian military to help evacuate civilians. The Russian army and their proxies, however, continued the offensive through the evacuation, with shells hitting buses filled with escaping civilians.
Despite the agreed Feb. 15 cease-fire, loud explosions are still heard.
“We are only repelling attacks,” Kuzorev said. “Those Ukrainian bastards keep shelling us.”
The Ukrainian military deny cease-fire violations.
Both sides, however, confirm that heavy weaponry has been largely withdrawn from the war front. But nobody knows if this is just a pause in what could be a renewed offensive by the Russian forces this spring.
It seems that not a single building has been left undamaged in Debaltseve. Mortars and shells that struck the city are spread out everywhere. Despite the ruins, the separatists see their control of the city as a major victory.
“In time this city will be glad to be part of Novorossiya,” according to a Russia-backed fighter, Grigor, who refused to give his last name to the Kyiv Post out of fear for reprisals.
The Kyiv Post was not allowed though to move freely through Debaltseve. Grigor and another Kremlin-backed fighter Maksim, who also didn’t give his last name, guided the Kyiv Post through the ruins.
The train station of Debaltseve looks intact, at least from a distance, but some damage becomes clearer upon closer view.
The Russians view the Debaltseve railway station as important in connecting the separatist strongholds in Donetsk Oblast and Lugansk Oblast by rail. “Factories and businesses will eventually benefit that we took control of Debaltseve,” Grigor said.
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine accuses the separatists of using the railway as a hub to rearm their fighters with artillery and other heavy weapons, presumably coming from Russia.
Grigor refused comment. “I can only say that there is still military equipment in Debaltseve. Just look around. But I can’t say if more weapons have come in at the railway station. I’m just an ordinary soldier,” he explained.
The Russians in Debaltseve have seized Ukrainian weapons as “trophies” — meaning they were taken from Ukrainian soldiers they killed.
“Weapons come from everywhere,” Grigor vaguely explained.
Ukrainian authorities consider the civilians who stayed behind in Debaltseve as Russian supporters.
But mostly they seem to be just hungry. A woman stands waiting near the railway station with her two young sons, asking eparatist fighters: “When will the next convoy of aid come?”
Her name is Anna, a 28-year-old woman who said her husband abandoned her for another woman. “You never know what to expect here,” she said in refusing to give her last name.
“We will provide as many aid as possible,” one Kremlin-backed fighter replied to Anna. “I’d recommend you to come to Donetsk as more stores and supermarkets have opened.”
“I would have done that already, if only I would get my money!” Anna yelled back.
It remains difficult for civilians in Debaltseve to enter Ukrainian-held territory because of the need for a special permit issued by local authorities on Ukrainian territory.
“I was living here under the Ukrainian regime. They didn’t care about us. We didn’t get as much aid as our liberators now give us. I have two sons to feed. Can you imagine how hard it is to live under Ukrainian authorities that treat you like garbage? The city was full of civilians that needed aid, but little was done. Yes, they evacuated them. Yes, our houses were completely damaged. And yes, both sides are to blame for it. I only care about my two sons for now.”
Life in Debaltseve has slowed down significantly. It looks more like an apocalypse than an important industrial railway hub.
And yet, the shelling continues on the outskirts of Debaltseve, even though there is not much left to ruin, except more lives.
Kyiv Post contributor Stefan Huijboom is a Dutch journalist.
