There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception”
There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception”
By Dr. Shoaib Khan, Visiting Faculty, Centre for Central Eurasian Studies, University of Mumbai,
It all began with my tour to the Donetsk region, thanks to the invitation by Vashi Novosti Project Director and Chief Editor Ivan Andreev. The tour was mainly organized besides Vashi Novosti a Federal News Agency with the support of the Department of information and Press of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, “Rossotrudnichestvo” Agency, the Zakhar Prilepin Foundation, and Vice-Speaker of the State Duma A.M. Babakov.
This tour mainly aimed at showing places in Russia that are difficult to access for foreign journalists, political and public activists, bloggers, intellectuals and public figures in places like Donbass.
This was the 6th Press tour to the area; I landed in Moscow on Sunday afternoon of 15th December 2024. In the evening, I was invited by my friend Prof. Andrei Gorohov of Lomonosov Moscow State University and his team of students for a couple of interviews and then for dinner in a restaurant. Though this was my fourth visit to Russia but first long visit during the peak of winter season. It was a long journey from Mumbai to Delhi via Tashkent and Moscow changing three flights. In Tashkent airport I witnessed the first ever snowfall of my life, though in Northern part of India there is a snowfall, but I never visited the area during extreme winter.
The very next morning all of us who had arrived gathered in our lobby of SK Royal Hotel Moscow. We were taken to our meeting place where we had our meeting of Press Tour it was on Monday, 16th December, morning. In the meeting we introduced ourselves to each other members of the Press Group and were instructed on how to handle the situation related to our report preparation and precautions to be taken on filming and photographs as per their instructions as we will be in the sensitive area of Donetsk and have to abide by certain rules and regulations and not Luhansk as there was much restrictions and we did not get the permission to visit. All the important instructions were given to us of how to confine within certain limits. Donetsk though less sensitive than Luhansk is still under the control of strict administration and after 10:00 p.m. there is a curfew like situation and any passing vehicle and passerby may be questioned by the authorities.
After our meeting with our team leader Oleg and other coordinators Olga, Ivan and others we were free for that day to visit Moscow city. I was arranged for a taxi to my friend a retired Scholar of Urdu language in Russia, Mrs. Irina Maximenko who invited me for a tea party at her house, where I spent a couple of hours and was back. I got down near my hotel and went to the nearby mall for some shopping, my first ever experience on walking on the snow taking care not to slip on the streets full of snowfall. In the evening, I had talked to my sisters back home on my journey and about Moscow. Though the extremely cold climate did not reduce my lust for moving in Moscow, but I had to sleep early as we were instructed to gather in the lobby around 8:30 a.m. the next morning as the bus will leave Moscow for Donetsk at 9:00 a.m. exactly.
On the morning of 17th December, we were asked to order the breakfast in our room around 5:00 a.m. and then we gathered in the lobby of our SK Royal Hotel Moscow from where we were taken in different taxis to our previously held meeting place where our bus was waiting for us to leave from Moscow to Donetsk. It was nearly a fourteen-hour journey and reached our destination at around 12:30 a.m. on the way we had stopped several times for refreshments. When we entered Donetsk, we had to be reported, and our team leader had talked with the authorities. It is from here as a precautionary measure we were escorted by security van along with our bus.
On the morning of 18th December, as the whole tour was under severe cold weather, we reached the spot of the Lenin Komsomol Park (Monument to the fallen children, Alley of Heroes, Alley of Angels)
where children were killed by the enemy forces and there, we laid down some flowers and toys in their memories of the martyred children and brave citizens of Donetsk we were also taken to the monuments of Russian General who fought for their countries against Germany in Second World War. Many of their monuments too were destroyed by the enemy forces. After taking some photographs of artilleries and tanks and museums we went in the army museums of the Great Patriotic War, Museum of Labor and Military Glory.
The staff inside and the Russian army commander showed us all the photographs, weapons and belongings right from the first and second world war to the present Russia-Ukraine war even foreign weapons captured were displayed. They even showed us the war battle planning of medieval and modern era ware-fare and its technics in a toy model.
From there we were taken to the circus Cosmos for a while where many children had come to watch out of those children were the families of soldiers killed in the Ukraine war. We talked to them and was one of the moment of emotions for all of us and from there we were taken to another museum in school there too we were shown a short film on Russian soldiers and citizens particularly of Donetsk fighting in world wars and Ukraine war. The museum was also decorated in a war style where many soldier belongings and other war related articles in different rooms were on display.
The very next day on Thursday morning of 19th December, we were taken to the Mariopol a port city at the Sea of Azov, to Azovstal plant, there too we saw the destruction caused by the bombardment traces of skirmishes on the buildings and devastated houses, a bridge on the river and a train destroyed on the rail its remains still lying there. A drama hall we visited was the target of bombardment where civilians were present during the incident and were the victims. We observed the reconstruction efforts going on for that hall by a Russian construction company.
We were then taken to the battalion of Russian army called Espianola, some of us travelled in different vans we then observed the battalion which conducted military exercises firing rocket launchers, machine guns and sniper assault rifles. After their practice and having snacks along with the defense personal we felt as if we too are a part of them. We were also taken to another battalion place where at night they conducted some exercises in front of a high lit fire from there we returned to the hotel for dinner.
On Friday morning the next day on 20th December we were sitting in our Atlas Hotel lobby in Donetsk and suddenly air defense battery sounds were heard continuously as if a big skirmish is taking place. The hotel staff immediately asked all of us to go to the basement where we spent at least five minutes and then everything was cleared, one of the representatives of the RT tv took my interview in the basement and asked me about my thoughts on this attack. I said these attacks will be in the coming days, but Russian forces are strong enough to repulse them as they have done it today. We also came to know that a few yards away some of the traces of attacked weapons was also found in a building which may have been a target. This was also shown on one of the Russian channels that day.
After a few hours were taken to one of the Maksim Krivonos detachment battalions but this time the situation was different after going to their headquarters we had to travel through the marshes and were taken in another rugged terrain full of marshes and covered by grass on both sides. We were asked to get down from our vehicles on the way from where we were guided to walk a distance down the hill in the dense woods to watch the military exercises of ambushes and also of emergency help in medical, they do during armed conflicts. We were also taken to the trenches of sniper assault rifles where the army conducting fire exercises on targets.
Returning from the military exercise area on the way there was a small inn cooking food for the army where we too were invited and had an opportunity to eat the dishes prepared by them along with the coffee. We walked again from there to a long way above back to where our vehicles were standing. There we met a group of soldiers and were interviewed by different journalists, they told us about how they had joined the Russian forces with their will without any pressure also they are called with nick names and had no contacts with their families back home as their lives may also be in dangers. They also said that we have no animosity with the Ukrainian people, but it is the policy of the Ukrainian Government which forced them to rise up in arms. After having photographs with them and the armed forces giving us the honor of souvenirs we returned back to the headquarters and to our hotel for dinner.
On Saturday morning, 21st December, we participated in IV Scientific and Practical conference, titled, Philosophy on the Front line 2024: the geopolitical status and spiritual meaning of armed conflicts in Russia the 21st century, it was on 20-21 December, Donetsk Peoples Democratic Republic organized by Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Federal State – funded Military Higher Education Donetsk Higher Combined Arms Command School. We participated on 21st and my presentation, “Dynamic nature of war in modern era.” Besides me there were four other participants Mr. Vadim from Russia, Mr. Haaz al Din from United States, Mr. Christian from France and Ms. Olga from Russia our English presentation was translated by Ms. Lilia in Russian. After our presentations and interactions with the students and faculties on the organizations we were presented with the books from their institutes and after a group photographs.
We had lunch and were taken to the refugee camps in Volnovakha area. There we met a number of refugees men and women who told us the stories of atrocities committed on them, about their neighbors, relatives and friends and also about how the Ukrainian army forcibly took the men and young boys in trucks to the front to fight by force. They tried to hide their young men in basements for days and had to do all their substitute works. It was when the Russian troops arrived, they had some relief and were never forced to fight. We also met some elderly women who had spent their young days, and a big part of their life in their homes and never thought of such incidents taking place. They were forced to leave their homes at this age and had to leave in the refugee camps. Though the Russian Government have given them many facilities here as we have also observed their kitchens, rest rooms, toilets and other recreation facilities, but home is after all home which these people are missing and is finding almost hard to return at least in the near future.
That night we had our farewell dinner in the same Atlas Hotel and when we returned in the morning of Sunday, 22nd December, from Donetsk to Moscow, we stopped on the way for a military souvenir shop to by something. On the way we also heard the sound of air defense batteries retaliating to incoming Ukrainian weapons. After a long journey of nearly fourteen hours on the way we stopped for lunch and dinner reached Moscow around 1:30 a.m. There in the cool freezing Moscow streets thanking our organizing team for the great hospitality and caring for our Press team members we greeted each other goodbye and left in different taxis to different airports for our journey back home to our respective destinations.
One thing which I observed on this tour was the love and affections which the Russian people show right from our organizers to the ordinary men and women on the streets are very friendly and good nature even towards strangers. Though they are at war with Ukraine but the love for Ukrainians still exists for them in their hearts as I have also found with some Ukrainians for the Russians whom I met before. The armed forces, Administrations and people of Russia are not interested in waging war against Ukraine, but they were forced and provoked to go for war by the policies of the Western backed Ukrainian Government. Even many of my western friends have been against these policies of their respective countries. People in Donetsk are happy and comfortable with the Russian administration the only hurdle is the time and again attacks and counter attacks by the armed forces of both countries. I do hope the war to end soon, and peace exists in this area so that people from this land and foreigners do benefit from this land of love and affections in the coming days.