A Ukrainian serviceman at the front line near the government-held town of Avdiivka. Oleksandr Klymenko/Reuters
AVDIIVKA, Ukraine — Here at
the epicenter of the latest spasm of violence in eastern Ukraine, great thuds of artillery
shells could be heard in the distance on Friday, as residents scrambled to
board up blown-out windows and stockpile groceries in anticipation of further
shelling.
Dozens of soldiers and
civilians have been killed or wounded all along the front in nearly two weeks
of fighting. While it is still not clear who is responsible for the escalation
in fighting between the Ukrainian Army and the Russian-backed rebels, many
residents say they believe the recent violence was meant to force some clarity
from President Trump.
So far, Mr. Trump’s
administration has offered mixed messages about the three-year-old war. He has
said he would be open to lifting sanctions against Russia imposed in 2014 after it
annexed the Crimean peninsula and sent troops to aid separatists in the east.
However, Nikki R. Haley, Mr. Trump’s newly appointed ambassador to the United Nations, last week called for an end
to “the Russian occupation of Crimea” and for a halt in the fighting in eastern
Ukraine.
This week, in a letter to Lithuania’s president, Mr. Trump seemed
to echo that sentiment and personally expressed support for keeping Ukraine
intact. The lack of a clear position on the conflict has bewildered officials
on both sides, particularly in Ukraine where Mr. Trump’s overtures to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia are viewed
with alarm.
“It is very important for
Trump and his administration to figure out the situation and gather as much
information about it as possible,” said Iryna Gerashchenko, the deputy speaker
of Ukraine’s Parliament, one of the lead officials overseeing peace negotiations
with the Russians. “It’s obvious that the Russian government wants to use this
transitional period and impose its version of events and spread
disinformation.”
Mr. Trump only briefly alluded
to the conflict in his letter to Lithuania’s president, Dalia Grybauskaite,
praising her country on the occasion of its independence day for supporting
“the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine” among other things as a
way of safeguarding European security.
Linas Linkevicius, Lithuania’s foreign
minister, who on Friday toured Avdiivka, a city on the eastern front, called
the statement “really valuable” though he acknowledged it came after “some
fragmented comments” from Mr. Trump. “We really need U.S. leadership here,”
said Mr. Linkevicius, noting that his country had sent 30 military advisers to
eastern Ukraine.
Lithuania, a former Soviet
republic, has been a vocal supporter of Ukrainian sovereignty and has provided
the government with humanitarian and military aid. Mr. Linkevicius, who was in
Avdiivka to meet with military and civilian officials before a major European
security conference next week, said his country supported improved relations
with Russia, but “not at the expense of values and principles.”
In Avdiivka, where the sky is perennially filled with
the acrid smoke from a giant coke and steel plant, the violence subsided just
long enough for residents to begin getting back to life’s normal rhythms. By
Friday, electricity and gas had been restored and people were out shopping.
The losses over the last two weeks had been heavy
across the region, but nowhere as bad as here. Eleven soldiers from a single
brigade have been killed along with several civilians. In the courtyard of one
apartment complex is a three-foot-wide hole where a rocket fell, killing a
local emergency worker. At least 192 homes were damaged by artillery fire,
according to Pavel Malykhin, the city manager.
Soldiers here expressed frustration about mounting
losses and the chaotic administration of the war. Supply lines, though
improved, are still inefficient. Ms. Gerashchenko, the Ukrainian lawmaker, said
she often delivered equipment herself and arrived in town by train on Friday
with an unarmed surveillance drone and a night-vision scope. Officials said the
separatists had been firing mortars from positions inside residential zones,
making it difficult to fight back.
“They are shooting at our side, and we’re not allowed
to open fire,” said a soldier who gave only his nom de guerre, The Greek, and
was dressed from head to toe in white snow camouflage. “We’re told not to
provoke them.”
All across the city, the signs of war are inescapable.
Children at School No. 7 wear backpacks donated by Unicef and there are posters
in the hallways and classrooms that explain the dangers of unexploded ordnance
with cartoons of maimed and beheaded people. “WATCH WHERE YOU STEP!” the
posters read.
There has not been running hot water in at least two
years. Local officials said that every time workers had tried to repair damaged
water mains they come under fire from rebel snipers.
An old man stood outside his apartment building
holding a cigarette. A mortar shell had left a hole in the building’s facade.
“I had given up smoking,” he said, “but after the house took a direct hit I
started again.”
Mr. Malykhin, the city manager, said there were 142
buses ready to evacuate the entire city if needed. But many insist on staying,
he said, even as conditions become more miserable.
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