Restoration of Donbass and Lugansk territories - first-hand information

16 июня 2022
The news coming from Donbass are still far from being good. The shelling of social facilities in major cities continues. In Donetsk, the educational institutions have come under fire from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Technical colleges and dormitories were damaged. Eight civilians (including two minors) were killed and 16 people were wounded in Stakhanov, Krynichnoye and Troitsk in the Lugansk People's Republic. But, against this backdrop, the liberated territories are already beginning to be rebuilt.  Learn the details from the report by Ksenia Lebedeva. 

Driving along the roads of Donbass, one can see a number of red signs all around the roadsides: danger, mines. Therefore, hygiene stops are not customary here. We arrive at the former location of the Ukrainian army - the village of Schastiye. 

Now we are in the former Ukrainian military stronghold. You see their iconic symbols - the swastika. This location is along the road to make observing and tracking the target convenient. It was decided to make a kind of museum out of such locations in the liberated territories  And you can check it out - there are all kinds of trophy weapons there.

Ivan Filiponenko, official representative of the LNR People's Militia: d bnjujdjvMilitia: 

Their policy is to minimize casualties... They deliberately target massive artillery strikes on residential areas of the power centers. And, obviously, they are trying to intimidate the civilian population.

We are now near a former Ukrainian dugout. Presumably, this is where they had lunch when they were not fighting. Let's see what's inside.

You may notice, here lies some children's toy, inscriptions "Volodya and Schastiye, fifth grade, Bryullov". Well, then it's not really clear. I suggest we move on. This is where, by all appearances, they still kept something of their armament.

Alexei Ramm is a war correspondent who has been working in Donbass for eight years since the beginning of hostilities. He remarked today that he actually visited Schastiye seven years ago, when there was a totally unfriendly environment on the frontiers.

Alexei Ramm, editor of the "Army" section of Izvestia, military expert: 

Such a Jolly Slide, while passing through, you might have noticed the sign "Jolly Slide." This is the place. There were dacha settlements there. And so a representative of the LNR People's Militia and I went out there. They were looking for places to set up guardhouses, but I was with them. We went out there. We got a visual contact with the Ukrainian side. They didn't like it very much. They launched a mortar fire on us, mortar fire. We got out of there quickly. But from that moment on, I really wanted to visit Schastiye, I had such an idea some 7-8 years ago.

- How did you feel when you were there today?

- It was very nice, it's some kind of pleasant nostalgia.

A multifunctional medical center is currently being built in the territory of Lugansk Regional Hospital. All this is being done thanks to the Russian Ministry of Defense at the request of the authorities.

There are only a little over 30 such sites in the territory of Russia. When asked how many of these will be in the Ludansk Region, the answer is that this is only the beginning.

Leonid Pasechnik, the head of the Lugansk Republic, arrives at the construction site. 

Leonid Pasechnik, head of the LNR:

We are very grateful to Russia for this construction, because, frankly speaking, it's a health care facility, and probably since the 1990s the previous authorities paid very little attention to health care in the Lugansk People's Republic. The health care was financed with whatever funds remained, and therefore no one built any new facilities in the region. This was not good for the provision of medical services. With the arrival of the Russian Federation, we can see the attention that is being paid to us as part of the reconstruction program, this is not the first facility. We have already started building bridges, we are repairing roads in the city of Lugansk, and will also be used in the reconstruction program of the Lugansk People's Republic.

One of the enterprises that did not stop its work in the territory of the Lugansk Republic was the Alchevsk Metallurgical Plant. 

Now the load on the company has increased. As the major metallurgical enterprises of Donbass were concentrated in Mariupol. Due to the fact that they are in the conflict zone, now they have to work with double efforts, because the amount of metal products in the region has decreased, and it is necessary to restore the territory. 

Yevgeny Yurchenko, General Director of Yyuzhny Ore Mining and Processing Plant:

The restoration, especially the construction restoration, always consists of several basic pillars. This is the availability of high quality cements: crushed stone, sand and most importantly - metal structures, fittings, bridges, reinforced concrete products. We believe that all of our products will be in demand in the territory of Donbass and will go to the peaceful restoration of the national economy.

It should be noted that the Alchevsk plant joined the Yuzhny Ore Mining and Processing Plant group relatively recently. However, everything changed immediately. First and foremost, people received their salaries - 7 billion Russian rubles was spent on payments alone.

Last year alone, 30 billion Russian rubles was invested in the company, with annual investments of 7-8 billion.

Dmitry Smolyarchuk, head of the oxygen-converter shop at Alchevsk Metallurgical Plant:

The difficulty we have is that there is a military action right next to us. Non-standard situations are possible, but we get ready for them and overcome them normally.

- Lugansk's entry into the Russian Federation. How do people support this initiative?

- I'll tell you, 99 percent!

Alexei Kazak, head of the blast furnace shop at Alchevsk Metallurgical Plant: 

- The salary is paid steadily. A lot of criteria have changed, you can't name everything at once.

- Has anything changed for you personally?

- I became head of the shop. 

- Are you valued as a professional?

- Yes.

- How many people have moved to work for you?

- Now specialists who left Azovstal for obvious reasons are coming from here. Now they are returning from Mariupol, Severodonetsk. We don't refuse to hire anyone.

Now it's all a story the locals will remember, they won't forget it. And their desire to live with Russia, not Ukraine and despot Zelensky, becomes more than understandable. Who would like to live under the fire of their own army?