Paweł Pieniążek: Greetings from Novorossiya: Eyewitness to the War in Ukraine

I thank my friends in Warsaw, Wojciech Kuźnicki and Jakub Piłczyński, who always tried to help as much as they could.

Perhaps I would have never seriously begun to write this book without the encouragement of Professor Jarosław Hrycak and Dr. Tomasz Stryjek. They were the first to motivate me, and thanks to them I believed it possible.

I am grateful to the Warsaw branch of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, and in particular to Małgorzata Kopka, thanks to whom I went to Donbas for the first time. And finally, I would like to thank Wydawnictwo Krytyka Polityczna for deciding to publish Pozdrowienia z Noworosji and for doing it like the wind.

In chapter 9I used the fragments of the following texts:

“Samolot zestrzelony przez separatystów,” Tygodnik Powszechny , online at http://tygodnik.onet.pl/wwwylacznie/relacja-korespondenta-ze-wschodniej-ukrainy-samolot-zestrzelony-przez-separatystow/fs581.

“Boeing 777 nie wytrzymał walk,” Tygodnik Powszechny , online at http://tygodnik.onet.pl/wwwylacznie/boeing-777-nie-wytzrymal-walk-korespondencja-ze-wschodniej-ukrainy/ybbfe.

“Rosyjskie śledztwo nie będzie uczciwe,” Tygodnik Powszechny , no. 30 (3394).

“Ukraińcy: Donbas wyzwolimy sami,” Tygodnik Powszechny, no. 31 (3395).

In chapter 10I used the fragments of the following texts:

“Dziwny rozejm,” Tygodnik Powszechny , no. 42 (3406).

“Noworosja krzepnie,” Tygodnik Powszechny , no. 43 (3407).

The translators wish to thank Lena Surzhko-Harned for her advice on Russian and Ukrainian terms.

Near Luhansk, October 2014

Donetsk, October 2014

Donetsk, October 2014

Donetsk, October 2014

The Donetsk Regional State Administration building occupied by pro-Russian demonstrators. Barricades were placed before the building and guards were stationed. Russian banners on building: “Donetsk Republic.” Large sign with crossed-out swastika in center: “No to Fascism!,” smaller sign: “Drunks keep out.” April 16, 2014

Kramatorsk, April 2014

Donetsk, October 2014

One of the last pro-Ukrainian demonstrations in Donetsk. April 17, 2014

Kramatorsk, April 2014. Russian sign reads: “Donbas, our land”

Separatists took over the infantry fighting vehicles from Ukrainian forces in Slovyansk. April 19, 2014

Kramatorsk, April 2014. Russian sign reads: “Referendum. Fascism, Nato—NO”

The Saint George Ribbon associated with the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany is now used by pro-Russian demonstrators in Kharkiv. May 9, 2014

Donetsk, October 2014

Near Kiev, March 2014

PrivatBank car belonging to oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi. Particularly in the initial phase of the conflict, Kolomoyskyi was considered the only man who could stop the separatists. Dnipropetrovsk, May 14, 2014

103 Lenin Street, Luhansk, October 2014

Novoazovsk, October 2014

Main square in Slovyansk with its Lenin statue in the center. April 21, 2014

Some “little green men” who came from Crimea. Initially, many residents welcomed them with great enthusiasm. Slovyansk, April 16, 2014

Near Slovyansk, April 2014

Burned cars that had supposedly been driven by activists from Right Sector. Bilbasivka, April 20, 2014

Slovyansk, April 2014

A Ukrainian armored personnel carrier is shielding a special forces unit during an attack on separatist checkpoints in Khrestishche. April 24, 2014

Ilovaisk, October 2014

A ballot box labelled Donetsk Republic during the so-called independence referendum that took place in the territories controlled by separatists. Donetsk, May 11, 2014

Donetsk, October 2014

Slovyansk, April 2014

The remains of a separatist barricade on Lenin Street. A few days before, Slovyansk returned to Kiev’s control. Under the Ukrainian flag you can see the colors of the Donetsk People’s Republic. Written on the barricade: “Stop,” “By our civic position we protect the land of Slovyansk,” and “In unity our strength.” July 10, 2014

During the fighting for Kramatorsk a shell landed in an apartment. July 10, 2014

Luhansk, October 2014

Donetsk, October 2014

Luhansk, October 2014

After the shelling, almost all residents left Marinka. Separatists are stationed in the city. July 13, 2014

In the bunker, Val with a grenade launcher poses for his picture. Marinka, July 13, 2014

The slogan on the billboard says “Peace to the world.” Behind it you can see the smoke from a burning factory. Donetsk, July 21, 2014

A truck belonging to the nationalist battalion Azov. Their symbol is the Wolfsangel used by neofascist groups. The sign in Ukrainian says “Between us and the terrorists—only the Army—Support the Army—Protect yourself.” Mariupol, September 4, 2014

Slovyansk, April 2014

The remains of the fuselage of the downed Malaysian passenger plane. Hrabove, July 18, 2014

Near Slovyansk, April 2014

Donetsk, October 2014

During a pro-Ukrainian demonstration, a young resident of Mariupol is holding a piece of paper: “I want to live in Ukraine.” August 28, 2014

Slovyansk, April 2014

Donetsk, October 2014

Near Luhansk, October 2014

Ilovaisk, October 2014

Near Luhansk, October 2014

Novoazovsk, October 2014

Donetsk, October 2014

Slovyansk, April 2014. Russian banner reads: “Donbas Republic”

accreditation: civilian, 185; DPR, 156–57; press, 119-21

Akhmetov, Rinat, 13, 14

Alchevsk, 20, 86

antifascism, 27, 33, 131; Victory over Fascism Day, 32

armored personnel carriers (APCs), 76, 77, 137, 139, 147, 168; in Slovyansk, 7, 23, 59, 61, 84, 86, 109

Artemivsk, 86, 142, 143, 154

Banderites, 26-27, 46; “Benderites,” 27

battalion Donbas. See volunteer battalion Donbas

Berkut police unit, 25, 26, 161

Borodai, Alexander, 154, 160

Brotherhood, the, 134, 150

ceasefire, 168, 176, 178

Central Election Commission, 89, 95, 97

checkpoints: near Khrestishche, 84; in Marinka, 130; in Mariupol, 171, 175; in Slovyansk, 59, 67, 69, 71, 86

Cheerful. See Vesele (Cheerful)

Christian Battalion of Saint Mary. See Brotherhood, the

City Council buildings, 20, 37, 48, 81, 118; Ponomarev and, 73, 74, 76, 109; in Slovyansk, 57, 59, 61, 71, 73, 75-76, 105

Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU), 17, 32, 35, 73, 101

Crimea, 23, 26, 80, 91, 92, 146; annexed by Russia, 20, 32, 38, 123; Gorbik from, 74-75; referendum in, 91, 99; Russian Spring and, 72, 79

curfew, 64, 116, 185

Debaltseve, 154, 155

Defense Ministry, 40; forces, 84

Dnipropetrovsk region, 13, 20, 31, 37, 42, 160

Dnipropetrovsk residents: Iryna, 13; Maryna, 37; Oleksij, 32; Vitalij, 40; Vladimir, 48, 164

Donbas, 6, 7, 17, 23, 51, 90; Akhmetov and, 14; Mass Mobilization, 20; People’s Militia, 10; residents in, 45, 46, 119; Russian propaganda in, 23, 27

Donetsk, 10, 20, 23, 99, 100, 115; airport, 3, 136, 178; City Bank, 13; fighting in, 137, 139, 140; Petrovska suburb of, 127, 136; Pushkin Boulevard, 94, 95, 116; restaurants closing in, 118; Regional Administration building, 13, 43, 131, 185; Tochmash factory, 137, 140

Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), 10, 48, 49, 92, 94, 97, 134, 141; accreditation, 156-57; cities acting independently, 75; and Marinka residents, 126; and plane crash, 161-62; Press Service, 168, 185-86; referendum, 89, 90, 99; schools in, 189; and Slovyansk, 74, 110

Donetsk region, 11, 20, 31, 42, 80, 100, 119, 189; Akhmetov and, 14; and Right Sector, 55; and Yanukovych, 49-50

Donetsk residents, 90, 178, 180, 185; Andrij, 19; Artem, 3, 6; Ira and her boyfriend, 49; Irina, 103-4, 180; Ivan, 178; Klavdia (Press Bureau Secretary), 120, 121, 123, 127; Larisa (polling commission), 94, 97, 98; Maxim, 180; Nastia (killed), 6; Natalya, 51, 90; Oleksandr, 95; Oleksij, 137; Olha, 92, 112, 184; Pavlo (cab driver), 116, 118-19; Raya (landlady), 118; Sergey, 140-41; Serhiy, 25, 184; Vadim, 25; Valentina, 50, 92; Vasil, 23; Volodymyr, 14, 27, 101, 180, 182