You're reading: As lights go back on and bombing subsides, Avdiyivka hopes worst is over

AVDIYIVKA, Ukraine — After a week of Russia’s escalation of its war, killing at least 20 people, the streets of Avdiyivka were mostly deserted this weekend while the sounds of heavy combat and artillery rounds became less common.

For its target, Russia chose the industrial home of the Avdiyivka Coke and Chemical Plant, which supplies Ukraine’s vital steel industry and heats this city with a pre-war population of 35,000 people — now perhaps home to half that number. It is only 10 kilometers north of Russian-controlled Donetsk, yet 700 kilometers southeast of Kyiv.

Electricity was restored at 5:30 pm. on Feb. 5, making the city seem a little less eerie at night.

Russia’s war has brought terrible moments to Ukraine in the last three years — the massacre of hundreds of retreating Ukrainian soldiers at Illovaisk in 2014, the loss of Debaltseve and the ruined Donetsk Airport in 2015, the shoot-down of military planes and the civilian MH17 flight — all tragedies contributing to a death toll that stands at 10,000 people.

But the last week saw Avdiyivka on the brink of disaster after Russian-controlled forces hit with devastating artillery that targeted residential areas, including hospitals and schools, and that cut supplies of heat, power and water.

Only time will tell whether the fighting has stopped or merely paused. The tension remains high.

The sustained assault at least got the attention of world leaders, with the spike in violence dominating the telephone call late on Feb. 4 between President Petro Petro Poroshenko and U.S. President Donald J. Trump.

Trump’s readout said he would work for peace. Poroshenko’s statement said they discussed the need for an immediate cease-fire. That news hasn’t reached everyone in Avdiyivka.

“How are we supposed to know about this?” says a Ukrainian soldier, who refused to identify himself, as he unloaded medical supplies from an ambulance. “We receive no information outside, as we have neither time, no electricity to watch news. Two days ago, TV reporters recorded tanks near our building and published the footage immediately. And in two hours we were shelled by the militants severely because they had localized the tanks by the video and tried to destroy them. That’s what really matters to us.”

But other soldiers were very politically engaged — and hoping that Poroshenko can persuade Trump to supply Ukraine with modern defensive weapons, something the Ukrainian president was unable to convince ex-U.S. President Barack Obama to do.

“I think Poroshenko must persuade Trump to give us lethal weapons. I’d really like to operate Javelins, they would really enhance our defense against Russian tanks,” soldier Dmytro Klimchuk says.

Oleksandr Samarskiy, the brigade’s deputy commander, agrees. “For us, getting American precision weapons would be a great help in putting the war to an end. For instance, the Javelins – the weapon that eliminates tanks, would be a good tool to contain Russian-backed forces, including here in Avdiyivka. Having those complexes in our hands would also mean effective containment of our enemy – he will not attack because he knows his tanks will be turned into dust. So there would be much fewer tragedies like Avdiyivka.”

But another field medical officer, who refused to give his full name, doesn’t put much faith in politicians. “Ukrainian volunteers have done million times more than any of those politicians,” he says.

The renewed fighting began on Jan. 29 with attacks by Russian-separatist forces on the Ukrainian 72nd Mechanized Brigade near the city’s industrial zone, according to Ukraine’s military.

“Over the past five days, there were 13 assaults against Ukrainian forces and civilian population in Avdiivka,” Ukraine’s chief representative for The Joint Control and Coordination Centre, Anatoly Petrenko, said on Feb. 4. “Over 7,500 projectiles were fired on the city from the heavy weaponry. For three days, residential areas were fired upon, mostly at night. In general, it consists 345 tons of ammunition, which is eight wagonloads.”

In these days of hardship, life in Avdiivka concentrates mostly on a tent camp near the football field.

Operated by local authorities, volunteers, armed forces and rescue workers, the dozen insulated and heated tents with power generators are used as shelters for anyone suffering from cold, lack of food or fresh water or other essentials.

Civilians gather for free tea, cookies and conversation from the common threat.

“The only thing I wish is all of us getting back to our living in the peaceful times. This war has caused so much grieve and evil for both sides that I’m wondering how much hateful we are to make each other suffer again and again,” says a woman who refused to give her name.

Even the tent camp. however was not a complete refuge. One tent was shelled in an attack that killed one person on Feb. 2.

Most of the wounded are taken to the city’s central hospital on the western edge of Avdiyivka. Only a small wing is operational now, dedicated to treating wounded soldiers and civilians.

The Grad missiles used by the separatists are designed to inflict as much damage as possible, said one doctor who refused to give her name. “That’s what happened when the tent camp was shelled. A woman who had been wounded there later died in our hospital..”