What is a strategic embankment? In part, in the face of resistance from its population: in Nikolaev, this city in southern Ukraine that is the last defense of Odessa, the country’s largest port, residents say they are determined to stay, despite incessant bombing.
In the Ingolsky slum, one artillery shell nailed to the tarmac – a sign warns of danger to pedestrians and cars.
A little further on, in the big city cemetery, another projectile has sunk to the ground. There, today, about a dozen relatives went to say goodbye to 46-year-old soldier Igor Dodukov, who was killed along with dozens of his colleagues at a camp north of Nikolaev, which was bombed four days ago by the Russians. The official account of the victims of this bombing remains unknown.
Igor’s older brother, the gray-haired Sergei, kisses his swollen, blood-stained face. His wife, Galina, puts a cross in the pocket of his military uniform and closes the coffin to complete the burial. “It was classified at the beginning of the invasion,” said Sergei Dodukov. “We supported him because he wanted to protect our country,” he said, ruling out the possibility of him leaving Nikolaev.
In the background fire is heard.
“We have nowhere to go, we have no family abroad,” explains Galina.
Although many residents of this city of 500,000 have already fled, mainly to Odessa, which is 130 kilometers west, those who remain say they are determined to resist.
Afternoon, new bombing destroyed a building where, according to witnesses, housed a hotel and, on the ground floor, a bank.
At a distance of a few hundred meters, Anatoly Yakunin, 79, picks up the windows that were broken by the explosion. “To leave, for what reason?” he asks in surprise. “I have four grandchildren here, one is at war, how could I leave them?” explains.
Candles, tea and backgammon
In the Kulbakino district, which is made up of many high-rise apartment blocks, the population has shrunk in a matter of weeks, from 12,000 to less than 1,000, according to Alexandre Zantera, 56. He was forced to remove his elderly mother from her apartment in a building that was hit on March 7.
“We used to eat with this background noise,” he says. “Now, even my mother has learned to distinguish the sound of different fires anti-aircraft or bombs“, Says this former squadron leader.
In the basement of the building the tenants have settled on a permanent basis. At the bottom of the shelter, between two layers, some people left the backgammon open, leaving for unknown reasons the game they had started.
In the main room, which is lit by candles, a teacher, Ina Kouri, is chatting with friends and neighbors who are drinking their tea. “We spend the evenings here, praying for the soldiers and our homeland,” he says. “Every time there is a bombing, we go down here and when things calm down, we go out and that goes on.”
The teacher tries to organize distance lessons for students who have left Nikolaev or Ukraine. “There were many of us here in the beginning but some left the city because they had children or family. We will stay until the end. “We, the Ukrainians, are patient people but we will not give our country to anyone,” he assured.
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