Boris Mabillard
back from Pokrovsk
Published on November 18, 2024 at 05:00. / Modified on November 18, 2024 at 09:35.
A few magnifying glasses arranged in a garland welcome customers from Pokrovsk, a mining town in eastern Ukraine. It’s not a party but, at least, between the closed and plywood-covered storefronts, this refreshment bar – a counter, a few stools and three tables – has remained open. Customers find good coffee and hot tea as well as fast food, primarily hot dogs. A muffled “plop”, like a popped champagne cork, recalls the proximity of the Ukrainian artillery batteries.
Nobody pays attention to it because, in two months, the civilians of Pokrovsk have learned to differentiate between the departure and arrival of shells. Opposite the window, on the other side of the street, the old hotel collapsed on itself under the blast of the explosion. “Everything happened so quickly,” Yevguenia despairs. Pokrovsk led a peaceful life, the terraces were stormed by customers.” For many residents, the unthinkable happened with the irruption of war into their daily lives. Russian soldiers are now getting closer to Pokrovsk, the fourth city in Donbass under Ukrainian control in terms of the number of inhabitants, and their progress is accelerating.
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