On January 27, Izvestia correspondent Dmitry Zimenkin spoke with the fighters who liberated Lisichansk of the Lugansk People’s Republic.
Zimenkin, in particular, showed the place where the Ukrainian installation Strela-10 stood, destroyed by Russian soldiers. He also demonstrated the church of St. Mitrofan of Voronezh, which was on fire on June 26.
“Locals say that two fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Armed Forces of Ukraine. – Ed.) came here at night with large backpacks, after which a fire broke out. And not by accident, as everyone thinks. Because that day was the feast of All Russian Saints,” said Zimenkin.
The commander of one of the battalions of the RF Armed Forces with the call sign Flint, a native of Lisichansk, admitted that he defends his native city with a special feeling and does not understand those locals who sit at home.
“In 1941, our grandfathers got up and went. My great-grandfather, 8 children, got up and went. Wound near Warsaw. <...> Why should he sit in a trench, but this one does not. What is the difference, how do they differ? – he said.
A fighter with the call sign Malysh said that they are all equal: from private to general.
“If we fight each other, there will be no victory. And if we are like this in a fist together, then victory will be, and will be ours, ”said the soldier.
The correspondent pointed out that many of the soldiers did not hold weapons in their hands before the start of the special operation, but they learned everything in a combat situation.
“A feat is that we are already here. We came and have been here for 10 months – a feat. As for me and the boys, too, ”said Sergey, a serviceman of the Russian Armed Forces.
Last week, Izvestia showed the construction of fortifications near the front-line Lisichansk.
Lisichansk was liberated in July 2022. Acting head of the Lugansk People’s Republic Leonid Pasechnik called this operation lightning-fast. He pointed out that the enemy had fled, abandoning his equipment and defensive lines.
In addition, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry, Sergei Shoigu, spoke about the Russian military demining the territory of the liberated Lisichansk and providing medical assistance to civilians.
Russia’s special operation to protect Donbass, whose residents refused to recognize the results of the 2014 coup d’état in Ukraine, continues. The decision to start it was made against the backdrop of the aggravated situation in the region due to increased shelling by Ukrainian troops.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
