Lysychansk:
The governor of the eastern Ukraine region now experiencing fierce fighting with Russia, Sergiy Gaiday, opened the pockets of his floppy jacket on Saturday to reveal weapon cartridges and a turnstile.
The 46-year-old, appointed by President Volodymyr Zelensky, heads the Lugansk region, including the city of Severodonetsk, where Russians conduct street battles, and Lysychansk, where artillery fire is almost constant.
“It is a difficult situation, in the city (Lysychansk) and in the region as a whole,” he told AFP in an interview, as Russians “fire on our troop positions 24 hours a day.”
In Lysychansk, there are signs of preparations for street fighting: soldiers dig in, hang barbed wire, and police move burnt-out vehicles sideways over roads to slow traffic.
“There’s an expression: prepare for the worst and the best will come,” Gaiday said. “Of course we have to prepare.”
Gaiday has warned of the danger that Russian troops will encircle Lysychansk by closing supply roads.
“Theoretically it is possible. This is a war, anything can happen,” he said.
“It could be that they cut off the region and we really get surrounded. Maybe there is even fighting in Lysychansk – this is war.”
From Lysychansk, Ukrainian artillery fires at Severodonetsk, where smoke rises from the Azot plant and Russian troops fire grenades and rockets.
“Look how long Severodonetsk has lasted: you can see that they (the Russians) don’t have full control of the city…they can’t go any further in and they can’t place their big guns or tanks there,” said the governor. said.
He called for the delivery of “long-range weapons to arrive as soon as possible”.
“The fact that the West is helping us is good, but it is (too) late.”
– ‘No safe places’ –
The governor could theoretically still visit his hometown of Severodonetsk accompanied by military personnel, he said, “but it is very risky”.
In fact, “there are no safe places in the Lugansk region,” he said, as explosions sounded in the background.
His body armor was filled with cartridge cases and he said he has a semi-automatic rifle in his car “and if I have to, I’ll fight”.
Gaiday was born in Severodonetsk and appointed by Zelensky after his election in 2019.
Speaking of his current role as a wartime clerk, Gaiday said, “It’s tough, but I’m not letting my emotions run wild.”
“It is painful for me to see my home city being destroyed,” he said, also watching those he knew die.
“It’s all painful, I’m human, but I bury this deep inside me,” he said, adding that his job is to “help people as much as possible.”
– Social media –
Conditions are appalling for the civilians in Lysychansk, who have no mobile phone connection, running water or electricity. They cook on campfires and shelter in cellars.
“About 10 percent” has remained in the city, Gaiday said.
“We’re trying to talk to people and get them to leave. A bunch of refusals.”
There is a “small percentage” waiting for Moscow to build a “Russian world” in the region, he said.
Gaiday is prominent on social media, including Telegram and Facebook, and provides regular updates on the war.
“You have to talk,” he said, saying that this could counteract the powerful influence of the Russian state propaganda machine.
He also said he wanted people in the conflict zone to “understand that I have not let them down, that I am on the ground and with them”.
Referring to a possible war crimes tribunal, he also suggested that his posts “could be even a small element when we (Russian President Vladimir) try Putin in The Hague”.
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)