On election day in Donetsk people were thinking and shouting slogans about the war

photo by the author

Election day wasn’t held at the polling stations, but rather at Donetsk’s central square. Thousands of people were announcing their readiness to “liberate Ukraine”.

“EuroBelarus” Information Service photo report features all the details.

For a journalist to work in Donetsk, accreditation is required. Without it journalists can have tough times – there are a lot of aggressive people among citizen soldiers, and hunting on “spies” is going on every day. Without accreditation, one isn’t allowed to make photos and video, and intensified inspection and interrogation can be performed.

To film and make photos inside the building of Donetsk regional administration is absolutely forbidden; any trifle evokes suspicion.

In the cabinet where the journalists get accreditation to film “everywhere where you want, only no faces” there were a lot of T-shirts, posters, flags, leaflets with the name “Donetsk People’s Republic”. A powerful propaganda campaign is going on there.

In the building of regional administration the journalist of the International Consortium “EuroBelarus” managed to talk with some local activist, who said that Kiev can easily organize polling stations in schools and universities – new authorities of Novorussia (the name used by the citizen soldiers in regard with Donetsk region) are busy with other things.

But ballot boxes were seen even near the building of the regional administration – supporters of federalization made garbage bins from them.

The representatives of Donetsk People’s Republic get very nervous when they hear about the election: they have their own “country” there. However, people were very friendly to the “EuroBelarus” journalist when they got to know that he is from Belarus, and were sending their regards to “Belorussia” and to the “father” (the way Lukashenka is referred to).

About twenty thousand people gathered at the demonstration on the day of Ukrainian president election at Lenin Square in Donetsk. But nobody was mentioning the election there; the major of the self-proclaimed republic was talking from the scene, promising that Russia won’t leave them alone with the Ukrainian army, and that the “help will come!”

Nobody was shouting “Novorussia” or “Donetsk Republic” during the demonstration; everyone was chanting “Russia”.

About a hundred armed men in APCs and five trucks came to the square for the demonstration. To the demonstrators they were introduced as the liberation army of Novorussia. A lot of people were crying with joy, sincerely saying “thank you!” to the soldiers, and any doubt about the payment for participation in the demonstration were dispelled.

Among the gunmen from the so-called “liberation army of Novorussia” there were several dozens of Caucasians, who hardly could be named patriots: they didn’t speak Russian to say nothing about Ukrainian.

But on the whole, many people have very exaggerated vision of the situation. “All candidates at the election are fascist – let them rule in Ukraine, but we won’t let them in here”; “there are fascists in Kiev, Putin will save us”, an old man was telling to the “EuroBelarus” journalist. There is no sense to argue with such people; every their answer comes to “fascism”, and they sincerely believe that they are fighting for the good. A lot of them might be very good people with certain moral standards, who love Russia, Donetsk and “former Ukraine” and would like to live “as we used to live before”.

There is exclusively pro-military rhetoric in Donetsk and Lugansk, and a lot of people are very categorical about federalization. Local supporters of federalization won’t be satisfied even with the independence of Donbas – they look upon Kharkov and Dnepropetrovsk regions as part of Novorussia, which occupies more than half of Ukraine at their map.

Now Donetsk and Lugansk are mobilizing soldiers and getting prepared for the fight.

In Donetsk on May 25 people didn’t have time to think about election; they were thinking about the war.