SPIEGEL reporter Christian Neef has visited Donetsk repeatedly in recent months and has seen the war creep up on the city. He says that many in the city seem unenthusiastic about supporting the pro-Russian separatists, but that the Ukrainian government in Kiev hasn't done much to win their support either. Jonathan Alpeyrie/DER SPIEGEL
Battle For Ukraine: An Inside View Of The Surreal Donetsk War Zone -- Christian Neef in Donetsk, Speigel Online
As the Ukrainian army closes in on Donetsk, shelling in the metropolis has become much more frequent -- and deadly. Many residents have left, but those who remain seem unsure what to make of the conflict. Resignation is widespread.
It is a thin veneer that separates guests of the Donetsk Park Hotel from the surreal world outside. Inside, we watch BBC in English and ZDF broadcasting news in German. The hotel has electricity and Internet while air conditioning keeps out the summer heat.
OSCE observers sit at the bar drinking Lvivske, a dark Ukrainian beer, for €2.50 ($3.3) a pint, a price that is outrageous for Donetsk. Their shiny white Toyota SUVs are lined up outside, waiting to drive them through the warzone during those moments when it's not too dangerous.
This Thursday is not one of those moments. Shortly before 1 p.m., a salvo of grenades rains down. One's ear quickly gets used to the sounds of war, rapidly learning to halfway reliably tell them apart. This time, though, the detonations are unbelievably loud and very close. Only three minutes after leaving the hotel, I arrive in the midst of misery in this embattled city of Donetsk.
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My Comment: When I am asked on what is my opinion on the war in eastern Ukraine .... I always answer back that I wish for a plague on both house (Kiev on one side and the pro-separatist forces on the other). Reading Christian Neef's column reassures me that I am not the only one who is thinking this way.
1 comment:
There are times I have wondered if my thoughts on the Ukraine's near future were wrong. Perhaps so, but as stated in this blog it's hard to tell with all the propaganda out there. I think we won't truly know how it's really going until maybe this time next year.
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