Ukrainian crisis: in Kiev, how are the inhabitants preparing for a Russian invasion?


Marion Gauthier, edited by Solène Delinger
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8:22 p.m., January 27, 2022

Pressure is mounting between the United States and Russia. Washington has rejected key demands from Moscow, which is calling for guarantees of Ukraine’s non-admission to NATO. In Kiev, the humanitarian associations, which are already providing aid on the front in the Donbass region, are therefore preparing for a possible Russian intervention. Marion Gauthier, our special correspondent in Kiev, went to meet the volunteers.

REPORTING

The tone shows between the United States and Russia. Washington has rejected key demands from Moscow, which is calling for guarantees of Ukraine’s non-admission to NATO. In Kiev, the humanitarian associations, which are already bringing aid to the front in the Donbass region, are therefore preparing for a possible Russian intervention. Marion Gauthier, our special correspondent in Kiev, went to meet the volunteers.

“The threat is permanent”

Two women are busy in a few square meters, opposite a small dingy office where their association receives donations, organizes the shipment of medicines or vehicles to transport the wounded. Both have had in mind, for several months, the possibility of a Russian attack.

“The threat is permanent. We continue our work as usual,” said Victoria, one of them. “We pay particular attention to gathering what we might need in the event of a conflict. We are not indifferent, but we are calm and ready”.

“We are defending our country”

The energetic fifty-year-old no longer counts his passages at the front. Since the launch of his association in 2014, eight years of war have passed. The small group of five volunteers now coordinates aid from all over the world. “We’ve been helping soldiers for so long,” says Olena, a bubbly 60-something. “At the beginning, we lacked everything. We started from nothing. Today, the situation has improved”.

“We do this because we stand up for our country and we see that small people can achieve big things,” said Victoria. The two volunteers place their hopes in their army more than in their government, they specify. But these days, their gaze is turned towards the West, attentive to the mobilization of the international community.



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