You're reading: Residents of Mariupol scoff at idea of ceasefire, train a defense battalion

MARIUPOL, Ukraine – As President Vladimir Putin unveiled his peace plan for Ukraine on Sept. 3, three dozen men of varied ages started their studies in the military school in Mariupol in eastern Ukraine. 

They
are the first batch of volunteers for a local self-defense battalion
that the city council called on the residents to form. Officially
subordinate to the Interior Ministry, they will be defending the city
from a Russian attack, which the residents have now been expecting
for nearly two weeks after thousands of Russian troops and tanks
entered Ukraine’s territory and took over the nearby city of
Novoazovsk.

Putin’s
suggestion for an immediate ceasefire in the region, which was a
part of his peace plan, has been met by Mariupol residents with a lot
of skepticism.

“Putin
has already asked to cancel the referendum (on secession of Donetsk
and Luhansk Oblasts from Ukraine), but this referendum still took
place. Then Putin promised not to send his troops to Ukraine, but it
happened. Putting also promised that our guys would be able to leave
Ilovaisk through a humanitarian corridor but they all were shot
instead,” said Hennady, a 30-year-old IT engineer, waiting for his
turn to start training.

The
tragedy that took place in Ilovaisk at the end of August, where more
than 100 people were killed in a Russian trap, has been one of the
most shocking news in the region where war has been going on since
April.

Hennady,
whose face is covered with a balaklava, is not giving his last name
because he expects his battalion to operate undercover and wage
guerrilla warfare against the Russian troops if they manage to
capture the city of 500,000 people.

Putin
and Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko both said they had a
discussion peace solutions in Donbas, but gave confusing accounts of
actual agreements that were reached. Poroshenko said they agreed on a
ceasefire, but the Kremlin denied any agreements, saying Russia was
not a party in the war. Instead, Putin rolled out a seven-point plan
for peace in Ukraine, which starts with a suggestion there should be
an immediate ceasefire.

But
the Mariupol residents, who had briefly been taken over by
Russia-backed separatists in June, aren’t buying it. They remember
the bloody fights when the volunteer Azov battalion fought for their
liberation, and the building of the local police station stands
burned down to the ground to remind them about those grim events.

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Hennady
said he wanted to join the Ukrainian forces earlier, but his family
begged him to stay in Mariupol and take up the gun if the city gets
in danger. But he has a lot to learn before becoming a real fighter.

A
dozen of men in balaclavas stand in line learning how to use
Kalashnikovs. The other group is learning how to take a Kalasnikov
apart, and assemble it back together. Yet another is listening to the
leader of the group explaining the basic differences between
different types of weapons.

The
training is conducted by fighters of the Azov battalion, whose people
have proved their efficiency in a number of operations and are now
defending checkpoints around Mariupol.

Azov’s
fighters who have fought Russian regular troops in Ukraine and even
captured some of the soldiers, say they know Putin has not given up
on his plan to capture their country.

“We
can compare this case with previous ceasefire, which the separatists
used to regroup and reinforce. And as a result of it, from a gang
they transformed into an army,” says Azov fighter Kiril, 26, who
goes under the nom-de-guerre Kirt.

“Didn’t
we have a ceasefire two month ago? Do you remember what happened?
There’s nothing more to say,” says commander of one of the
checkpoints outside of Mariupol.

Kyiv
Post staff writer Oksana Grytsenko can be reached
at 
[email protected]  

Editor’s Note: This article has been produced with support from www.mymedia.org.ua, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and implemented by a joint venture between NIRAS and BBC Media Action, as well as Ukraine Media Project, managed by Internews and funded by the United States Agency for International Development.