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Lured Back by a Cease-Fire, but Not Feeling at Home Yet Lured Back by a Cease-Fire in Ukraine, but Not Feeling at Home Yet
(about 4 hours later)
DONETSK, Ukraine — The bus station is bustling once again, with families unloading children, pets and bulging bags while waiting for connecting routes. Many are returning to Donetsk and surrounding areas after escaping the intense bombardment of the last few months, prompted by the announcement of a cease-fire but also by more prosaic things, like retrieving warm clothes and the return to school.DONETSK, Ukraine — The bus station is bustling once again, with families unloading children, pets and bulging bags while waiting for connecting routes. Many are returning to Donetsk and surrounding areas after escaping the intense bombardment of the last few months, prompted by the announcement of a cease-fire but also by more prosaic things, like retrieving warm clothes and the return to school.
“We heard about the cease-fire,” said Oksana, a mother with a young baby who was rejoining her husband and family after a month away. “They said it is quiet now. There’s no shooting.”“We heard about the cease-fire,” said Oksana, a mother with a young baby who was rejoining her husband and family after a month away. “They said it is quiet now. There’s no shooting.”
“It is getting cold, and the children have to go to school,” said another woman, who like others interviewed for this article refused to give her surname for fear of retribution. “They promised there would be classes.”“It is getting cold, and the children have to go to school,” said another woman, who like others interviewed for this article refused to give her surname for fear of retribution. “They promised there would be classes.”
Despite the recent rush, Donetsk still feels empty and like a city at war. It is the center of the separatist movement, the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic, or D.P.R., and it has been the target of repeated artillery strikes from both the Ukrainian Army and rebel forces for the last two months. Most of its residents fled to safer parts of Ukraine or into Russia, and residents here estimate that perhaps a third of the prewar population of around a million remains.Despite the recent rush, Donetsk still feels empty and like a city at war. It is the center of the separatist movement, the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic, or D.P.R., and it has been the target of repeated artillery strikes from both the Ukrainian Army and rebel forces for the last two months. Most of its residents fled to safer parts of Ukraine or into Russia, and residents here estimate that perhaps a third of the prewar population of around a million remains.
There are few cars on the streets, and most shops, including a chain of supermarkets, are closed, their windows boarded up against blasts and looting. The banks and A.T.M.’s are shut down, except for one state bank downtown that draws long lines of people.There are few cars on the streets, and most shops, including a chain of supermarkets, are closed, their windows boarded up against blasts and looting. The banks and A.T.M.’s are shut down, except for one state bank downtown that draws long lines of people.
Armed men in camouflage fatigues are everywhere, guarding official buildings but also chatting in groups on the streets or in cafes. A curfew goes in force at 11 p.m., but the rebels drive around all night, speeding through red lights and sometimes crashing their cars on the empty boulevards. They pack the Havana Banana bar and restaurant, a favorite hangout downtown.Armed men in camouflage fatigues are everywhere, guarding official buildings but also chatting in groups on the streets or in cafes. A curfew goes in force at 11 p.m., but the rebels drive around all night, speeding through red lights and sometimes crashing their cars on the empty boulevards. They pack the Havana Banana bar and restaurant, a favorite hangout downtown.
Two commanders ate lunch Wednesday at a table on the covered sidewalk as their guards stood watch on the street outside. Two fashionably dressed women smoked a Middle Eastern water pipe at the next table.Two commanders ate lunch Wednesday at a table on the covered sidewalk as their guards stood watch on the street outside. Two fashionably dressed women smoked a Middle Eastern water pipe at the next table.
The shooting may be in abeyance, but few residents are willing, or able, to resume their prewar lives.The shooting may be in abeyance, but few residents are willing, or able, to resume their prewar lives.
“We do not go out at night,” said Irina, a journalist who lost her job when the rebels closed her newspaper in May. “We have stopped planning.”“We do not go out at night,” said Irina, a journalist who lost her job when the rebels closed her newspaper in May. “We have stopped planning.”
Her boyfriend, Evgeny, lost his job, too, when his security firm folded. He said the business collapsed after the rebels seized money from the central bank and armored vehicles from other banks, leading them to close. He turned to his secondary business, fixing motorbikes, only to be ordered at gunpoint to fix some stolen motorbikes for the rebels.Her boyfriend, Evgeny, lost his job, too, when his security firm folded. He said the business collapsed after the rebels seized money from the central bank and armored vehicles from other banks, leading them to close. He turned to his secondary business, fixing motorbikes, only to be ordered at gunpoint to fix some stolen motorbikes for the rebels.
“I came to the conclusion there is no sense,” he said. “You start a business and get a bit successful, and two weeks later men with guns come and say, ‘Good boy, get lost.’ ”“I came to the conclusion there is no sense,” he said. “You start a business and get a bit successful, and two weeks later men with guns come and say, ‘Good boy, get lost.’ ”
Yet it was the shelling, which hit their neighborhood on the southwest side of town almost daily, that changed the way they lived. “It was almost every day, and four days it actually hit our street,” Irina said. At least one person on their block was killed, and others were badly injured.Yet it was the shelling, which hit their neighborhood on the southwest side of town almost daily, that changed the way they lived. “It was almost every day, and four days it actually hit our street,” Irina said. At least one person on their block was killed, and others were badly injured.
The strange thing, she said, is that returning residents do not understand the danger.The strange thing, she said, is that returning residents do not understand the danger.
“A lot of sun-tanned people came back, they come back like from an excursion,” Evgeny said. “They are going around looking at the destruction like they are Egyptian monuments.”“A lot of sun-tanned people came back, they come back like from an excursion,” Evgeny said. “They are going around looking at the destruction like they are Egyptian monuments.”
“We are used to listening all the time for shells, and they are always playing music,” a sign, Irina said, not just of the ignorance of the newcomers, but of the nervous exhaustion of those who stayed in Donetsk. “So now we want to go away for a few weeks,” she added.“We are used to listening all the time for shells, and they are always playing music,” a sign, Irina said, not just of the ignorance of the newcomers, but of the nervous exhaustion of those who stayed in Donetsk. “So now we want to go away for a few weeks,” she added.
The influx of people is straining food supplies in the city, and pressure is building on the administration of the Donetsk People’s Republic to meet their needs. The city municipal workers have kept the water and electricity on, but schools, courts and many other public services are still shut down. Pensions have not been paid for three months.The influx of people is straining food supplies in the city, and pressure is building on the administration of the Donetsk People’s Republic to meet their needs. The city municipal workers have kept the water and electricity on, but schools, courts and many other public services are still shut down. Pensions have not been paid for three months.
So even as some return, others are leaving. Another mother named Oksana was traveling to Kiev to see her 16-year-old son, whom she had enrolled in a school there.So even as some return, others are leaving. Another mother named Oksana was traveling to Kiev to see her 16-year-old son, whom she had enrolled in a school there.
“We have a very good school here, and the director thought it was a great pity I was moving him,” she said. But her son is aiming for university in Kiev. “His future is in Kiev, in Ukraine,” she said. “I don’t want him to study in Russian, or in a D.P.R. school.”“We have a very good school here, and the director thought it was a great pity I was moving him,” she said. But her son is aiming for university in Kiev. “His future is in Kiev, in Ukraine,” she said. “I don’t want him to study in Russian, or in a D.P.R. school.”
Her job at Donetsk’s metallurgical plant, the biggest in Ukraine, was another concern, since work was almost stalled. “The situation is worse even than that of World War II,” she said. “Two of the furnaces are switched off.”Her job at Donetsk’s metallurgical plant, the biggest in Ukraine, was another concern, since work was almost stalled. “The situation is worse even than that of World War II,” she said. “Two of the furnaces are switched off.”
The other Oksana, arriving home with her 7-month-old daughter, was also not sure she would stay. “We want all the family to come together, and we will decide,” she said. “Maybe we will go to Russia.”The other Oksana, arriving home with her 7-month-old daughter, was also not sure she would stay. “We want all the family to come together, and we will decide,” she said. “Maybe we will go to Russia.”