Lyuba insists that the landing of potatoes must be observed. They have been brought to Orijiv by a group of volunteers from western Ukraine and she, using an innate ability to put the people around her to work, has mobilized a group of men who were eating in the invincibility center so that the pick them up and take them to the warehouse. “We are going to need them. Anything they give us is welcome, we have to stock up on supplies,” says this white-haired woman who, like the rest of the shelter's collaborators, wears a fluorescent yellow vest.
Standing by one of the two vans parked in front of the shelter, Lyuba thanks the volunteers. He explains that reaching this city 50 kilometers southeast of Zaporizhia involves great risks; the day before the Russian forces attacked non-stop. In the afternoon they threw a bomb towards some buildings on the other side of the street that left a 10 meter crater. Suddenly a huge fire broke out, and then a thick column of smoke rose. “It was incredible,” says Lyuba, who waves her hands in an attempt to emphasize the tragedy he recounts. “They use little artillery, now everything happens suddenly. You never know when the attacks are coming until you have them in front of you, ”he emphasizes.
Hours earlier, in another part of the city, Roman Glomba had confirmed that the use of artillery has dropped (“perhaps they don't have it,” he said) and that Russian planes no longer approach the city as before, but they do launch bombs and missiles from miles away. “They know it's not worth risking their planes,” he says.
Roman has witnessed how Russian forces, especially aviation, operate on the front lines in Zaporizhia province, which has more than half of its territory under Russian occupation. Since he was posted to this line of defense at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he has shot down six fighters. This earned him the title of Hero of Ukraine by President Zelensky at the age of 19. All the planes he shot down with a 1970s Soviet man-portable air defense system.
He hopes that the National Guard brigade, to which he belongs, will receive Western weapons so that he can be even more effective during the spring counteroffensive by Ukrainian troops that seeks to recapture the territory occupied by Russia, or at least part of it. “The air defenses will be very important. Closing the skies has a great impact because we can cover our soldiers”, confirms Roman who, like Lyuba and the other inhabitants of Orijiv, is waiting for the time of the much-announced counteroffensive to arrive.
The Orijiv region is called to be strategic in this new phase of the war because it is the direct road to cities like Melitópol and Berdyansk –currently occupied–, and it is also the way to cut communication between the Crimean peninsula and the Donbass. But achieving this goal is a huge challenge, military analysts say. Unlike in Donbass where the front lines have moved, in Zaporizhia they have remained more or less static since the first days of the invasion. Some intelligence services have ensured that the Russians have had time to prepare three solid defense lines along the 120-kilometer front that crosses the province.
A commander stationed in the area and speaking on condition that his name not be published explained: "This will not be a battle like in the Middle Ages where there were two armies located on the front lines, here the weapons and the men are hidden. until they are given the order to leave in different places”. In Ukraine there is talk that only five people have information about the strategy to follow.
“Lately we only think about the counteroffensive. We are doing everything possible to be prepared and help people”, explains Lyuba, after saying goodbye to the visitors; she goes back into the building converted into a shelter where there are washing machines, showers, internet connection, ovens to bake bread. She goes from one place to another. He asks the man at the entrance for the number of people who have visited them up to that moment (72) and goes to the kitchen where at that time of noon a dozen people eat in the communal restaurant where they are served pasta soup, mashed potatoes and stew with sardines. Every day they distribute between 100 and 200 servings, depending on the season. Many inhabitants leave the city when the Russian attacks intensify, as in recent days, and return when the situation calms down.
This dynamic has been repeated systematically since the beginning of the large-scale invasion; then the Moscow troops advanced to the north of the Zaporizhia province. The Ukrainians managed to stop them less than five kilometers from the center of Orijiv, which has been under constant attack ever since. There are very few buildings that have not been hit by rockets or their splinters. “Some days we have had three hundred attacks, can you believe it?” says Najedna, who also works at the shelter. She always has a backpack nearby in case she has to spend days in the basement.
Many houses have been damaged five or six times. The destruction is so great that many of the men who remained in the village spend their time, when the attacks allow it, to repair the damage. “Many times we have to use the plastic from the tents that humanitarian aid brings us to cover windows or roofs,” says Constantino, 50. In the distance artillery shots can be heard fired a few streets away. They are Ukrainian. "We are used to it," added this man who on Monday was meeting with a group of men outside the government headquarters, which had been attacked on several occasions. In the basement there is a distribution center for some basic products such as water or construction materials. The market, which was in operation for much of the war, is destroyed. Like other shops.
Only a few soldiers pass through the center of the city and the occasional citizen who goes to the bus station, which still operates once a day. This loneliness and destruction contrasts with the red tulips and the green of the field that has suddenly given the landscape a touch of optimism. “We are sure that we are going to have a great victory”, says Lyuba who says that she appreciates the visit: “It is important to know that we have not been forgotten”.
