'I'm Asking Media to Stop Lying and Tell the Truth About Donbass,' Pleads Turkish Donetsk Resident

While the mainstream media have brought their primary focus on Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, Kiev's eight-year war against Ukrainian civilians in the breakaway Donbass republics remains invisible. An unnamed Turkish citizen who has lived and worked in Donetsk for 17 years has lifted the veil on the region's prolonged suffering.

The Ukrainian army's war against Donbass has been going on, unseen for the world, since 2014, says an unnamed Turkish national, who agreed to share his experience on condition of anonymity.

"Precincts of Donetsk, which are not far from the border with Ukraine, had routinely been subjected to bombardments," says the Donetsk resident. "Shells also fell in the center of the city; at first the bombings were carried out by warplanes. Now the attacks continue, nothing has changed dramatically since that time, they continue to shell us."

Conflict first erupted after a February 2014 coup d'etat in Kiev with ultra-nationalist and neo-Nazi paramilitary groups playing a significant role in the regime change. The Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine, traditionally Russian-speaking, did not accept the power grab and declared independence in response. The de facto interim government in Kiev that took over from the previous administration launched a brutal offensive against the region.

Donetsk was subjected to constant massive shelling with ordnance, says the Turkish national.

"From the balcony we could see shells flickering in the air with the naked eye," he says. "Many of them fell in the city centre. The Ukrainian side threw bombs not caring much about where they would land. It did not matter to them whether a residential building, office, shopping center or a military facility would be affected. They bombed the city indiscriminately."

Donbass militiaman holds up piece of shell fired on his comrades' position by Kiev forces in Western Donetsk. 15 February 2022.

© Sputnik / Сергей Аверин

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Many people were killed, the resident notes, adding that civilians, including women and children, continue to fall victim to attacks by the Ukrainian government forces and nationalist battalions.

"Recently, according to my estimates," he says, "about 20 people have died, 5 of them are small children. There was also a massive bombardment last night. Every day between 7 am and 12 pm everyone sits and waits for the bomb to fall. When the sound of a flying projectile is heard, all people scatter to the sides, looking for a place to hide, because it is not clear where it will fall."

In addition to everyday risks, Donetsk residents were often without electricity and water, with shelves empty in grocery shops, especially between 2014 and 2016, the resident recalls. Now the situation has at least partially improved: despite the intensification of shelling, there are products in stores; and people have electricity, water, and Internet, notes the resident.

The telephone line that connected Donetsk civilians with the Ukrainian territory is no longer working, however, and they cannot call our friends in Ukraine, he says, adding that they use only the local communication line.

A Ukrainian serviceman wears a mask depicting a skull on September 23, 2014 on armored personnel carrier (APC) in a suburb of the eastern town Debaltseve in the region of Donetsk

© AFP 2023 / ANATOLII STEPANOV

"We have 20-25 families living here," he notes referring to his Turkish compatriots. "None of us can watch Turkish TV channels – they all show propaganda favouring Ukraine. When I turn their programmes on, I immediately get nervous and my pressure rises. We were subjected to shelling and strikes first by [President Petro] Poroshenko, and now by [President Volodymyr] Zelensky. None of them have ever complied with the Minsk agreements," the source added, referring to earlier political ceasefire agreements.

Like many of his Turkish compatriots in Eastern Ukraine, the source wants to visit his home country. However, a trip from Donbass to Turkey is fraught with bureaucratic difficulties and a host of other unpredictable dangers.

"To get to Turkey, you must first go to Ukrainian territory," he says. "We were kept there for two days. Since they consider everyone who lives in Donbass terrorists, we were first interrogated. Some were released after a couple of hours, others were held for two or three days. Therefore, it is very difficult for us to first get from here to Ukraine, and then from there to Turkey, and then returning home is even more difficult. We've been stomaching this for eight years."

The Turkish public is not aware of the everyday struggles of people in the Donbass, the Donetsk resident notes, additionally observing that Western mainstream media is distorting reality which misleads people.

"I want to address the Turkish media," he says. "The media tells a lot of lies. Many civilians died here. No need to lie, tell the truth about what's going on here."