Electric atmosphere in Kyiv, but cruise missiles keep falling
Despite deadly air strikes and concern the counter-offensive has stalled, the rebellion has raised spirits in the Ukrainian capital.
As rescue workers cleared the wreckage on Saturday of another deadly Russian attack on Kyiv the astonishing political turmoil across the border was not the main priority for many.
Three floors of an up-market high-rise block in the Ukrainian capital had been destroyed, with three people killed and 11 injured, during another sleepless night in which Russians fired more than 50 cruise missiles.
“It was a really hard night so I don’t think I can say we’re happy,” said Kira Rudik, MP and leader of the opposition Golos party. “If there hadn’t been such a massive attack we could hope at least that with all their internal problems, they might leave us alone.
“We’re trying not to push our hopes up for many reasons,” Rudik added. “Of course we hope this will expose Putin’s weakness and the distraction will be a chance for us on the battlefield but it’s very early to say what’s going on.”
Yet as the stunning collapse of President Putin’s relationship with his former chef and ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, played out live on media channels, the atmosphere for many in Kyiv was electric.
“You can’t believe this,” exclaimed Alex Babenko, 25, a photographer. “Everyone is talking about it and sharing news.” Ukrainian social media lit up with jokes like “Never arm your chef”, pictures of frontline soldiers sitting back and eating popcorn and a video of a much younger President Zelensky opening a beer in front of the TV.
Oleski Morozov, 41, an entrepreneur, gathered with a group of friends at an apartment with a big-screen TV on the left bank of the Dnipro River to watch the insurrection unfold in real time.
“We’re following on TV, Telegram, Signal and all possible channels, hoping this will help us,” he said. “I don’t think it’s the beginning of the end of the war but it’s definitely something.”
Ukrainians were also cheered by news from the front that their forces had retaken territory in eastern Donetsk held by Russia for nine years. General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander for the Tavria operational and strategic grouping of troops, posted on Telegram: “In the Tavria direction, the Defence Forces have liberated the territories near Krasnohorivka in Donetsk region, which have been occupied since 2014. The advance of our forces continues.”
It was the news from inside Russia that captured most attention, however. Ukrainians shared screenshots of Google maps with red circles marking the advance of Wagner group forces on the M4 towards Moscow rather than the usual maps of the battlefront.
As Prigozhin’s forces rolled into the Russian town of Rostov-on-Don, coffee cups in hand and without firing a shot, some in Zelensky’s administration were jubilant. “Today we are actually witnessing the beginning of a civil war [in Russia],” said his adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak. “Events are developing according to the scenario we talked about all last year. The start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive finally destabilised the Russian elites, intensifying the internal split that arose after the defeat in Ukraine.”
Others were more circumspect, pointing out the imbalance in forces between the Wagner group’s 25,000 claimed troops and the 1.5 million soldiers in the Russian army. “Russia is showing its disunity to the world and the situation is pregnant with possibilities,” said Sviatoslav Yurash, Ukraine’s youngest MP, and a member of Zelensky’s party. “But there are many, many questions . . .”
Russia is notoriously opaque, warned Adam Borowski, a columnist for the Kyiv Post. “It’s possible it’s real and we are witnessing the collapse of the Russian regime or this is a maskirovka [a deception operation in Soviet military doctrine], smoke and mirrors to divert attention from what’s going on.
“Either way, it’s a great sign for Ukraine and I am sure they are already taking advantage on the battlefield – to have Prigozhin describe the reason for this war as a lie is a massive blow for Putin and if this doesn’t wake Russians up I don’t know what will.”
Military strategists described yesterday’s (Saturday’s) public showdown as vindication for Ukraine’s strategy in Bakhmut, the small coalmining town on the eastern front which was eventually taken last month by forces from the Wagner group after nine months of bloody fighting that drained the mercenary army’s resources.
It was there that Prigozhin first started his video rants, calling out Russia’s Defence Ministry for lack of ammunition and threatening to pull out, though after the town’s capture Putin issued a statement congratulating Wagner’s assault units for their role.
The catalogue of atrocities in Ukraine since Russia’s, including rapes, torture, the mass kidnapping of children and the flooding of villages by the apparent blowing up of the country’s biggest dam, has left many wary, however. Yesterday’s (Saturday’s) jubilation was mixed with fear, particularly given Putin’s threats to use tactical nuclear weapons.
“History shows dictators, when cornered, often lash out - Hitler tried to order the destruction of Paris at the end - and Putin is an irrational man,” Borowski warned. “This could all be a show in an attempt to convince the world that Putin is better than the alternative and they should go for negotiations,” Rudik said. “But if it’s for real, I’m frightened we might be headed for even more terrifying attacks on us to distract attention.”
By the end of the day, with Prigozhin announcing he was turning back from approaching Moscow, many were left feeling deflated and wondering what it had all been about. Others were preparing for another night of air raid sirens.
“Every night in Kyiv I go to bed hoping I don’t wake up like the people in today’s pictures clearing my car from the rubble,” tweeted Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko. “Some nights I also pray that I just get to wake up.”
The Sunday Times
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