Nicolas Tonev edited by Wassila Belhacine
The Russian offensive continues to intensify in Ukraine. kyiv, the capital, is under great pressure. But its inhabitants continue to resist by transforming the city into a real bunker. Concrete blocks, scrap metal… all the means are good to slow down the entry of the Russian forces.
On the 25th day of the war in Ukraine, the situation is tense in kyiv. Not a day goes by without hearing bombardments in the suburbs of the city, not a day without going down to the shelters to avoid missiles. The pressure on the capital is still just as heavy and yet kyiv has still not fallen into the hands of Russian soldiers. The Ukrainian capital has turned into a real bunker.
Earth, sand and bulldozers to create dams
The inhabitants of the city exploit all that it is possible to employ in order to block roads, to build baffles, to prevent armored vehicles from maneuvering, or even men from moving. In the southwest of the city, earth, sand, concrete blocks, scrap metal, truck trailers are used to create dams. Bulldozers are also mobilized as even a tank can have trouble pushing them.
Without forgetting the railroad cars, where there are tracks, and trams when possible. Of course, we must add to this list, barbed wire and trenches, sometimes every 500 meters on certain major roads that allow access to the city center.
Disadvantages for civilians
All of these obstacles are inconveniences for civilians. They have to deal with controls at many checkpoints and crossings by car become complicated at the chicanes. So much so that there is a kind of duplication in certain positions, armed volunteers with a Kalashnikov slung over their shoulders. They also have little green and red flags, like those of construction sites, and find themselves organizing traffic to avoid accidents.