On Friday, Ukraine transferred the last debt payment for this year to the International Monetary Fund, in the amount of $170 million. In total, over the year, Ukraine made about $1.3 billion in debt payments. While it received only $1 billion from the IMF. That is, starting this year, Ukraine pays more for its debts than receives in loans.
And this is only the beginning of the Ukrainian debt collapse. There is still no income, and huge loan payments are ahead. In 2018 — $11 billion. In 2019 — $11.5 billion. In 2020 — $13.5 billion, in 2021 — another $14 billion, in 2022 — the last 14 billion dollars.
Now, Ukraine's total national debt reaches $80 billion. The number is catastrophic.
Poroshenko, of course, understands that he won’t be able to get out of such a deep debt hole in a civilized way and acts predictably. He’s exacerbating the Donbass conflict, provoking war. Like, the war will write it all off.
Alexander Bilibov reporting the latest information about the Donbass situation.
DPR’s soldier: Every day, more and more bullets come from the enemy.
- Sniper!
- Sniper, to the dugout!
The sniper has just finished working, we hid in the dugout. This, again, indicates that the Ukrainian positions are 600-700 meters away from here, this is a short distance for a sniper, they work here all the time, even in a strong fog, as they have thermal cameras.
The Donbass front zone situation is still tense. The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue with their provocations. About a week ago, the 54th separate mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Aidar battalion invaded the so-called gray zone and occupied two settlements, Gladosovo and Travnevoye. Now, the neutral zone width on this site doesn’t exceed a kilometer. In the occupied territories in the gray zone, the Ukrainian military already equipped their positions, placed mortar detachments and sniper fire points. A Ukrainian flag is flying over the captured villages.
Gorlovka 3rd separate detachment officer Zhelezny. "We took the flag and are waiting for the order of our commander-in-chief Zakharchenko. If he commands, we'll clear the village in two hours, set it free and put our flag".
But the DPR’s military, of course, won’t start the attack, as it means violating the Minsk agreements. Moreover, the villages that the Ukrainian army units occupied have no strategic importance. They are in the lowlands, and from a military tactic point of view, the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ maneuver is a failure. But it was a good PR action, on which Ukraine, apparently, doesn’t intend to stop.
Eduard Basurin, DPR’s Ministry of Defense official representative. "In the Mariupol direction, we have data about the settlement of Viktorovka. There was the withdrawal of forces and weapons by both the DPR and the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Here, in this direction, they are also trying to move forward".
There’s very little information about what’s happening in the villages seized by the Ukrainian army. It’s known that the road there is mined, people can’t go to the DPR’s territory, although they used to go to the neighboring village of Golmovsky without any problems. People went shopping, to school and to work.
Nikolai Sapukhi, Golmovsky's resident:
- They let people in but don’t let anyone out.
- Don't they? And who doesn’t?
- Nationalists.
Alexander Bilibov: Last shot and we say goodbye to you.
Ukrainian prisoners: Right now?
Alexander Bilibov: Well, no. But I would do it right away.
Ukrainian prisoners understand that soon they’ll go home. News from Minsk gets in even through concrete walls and iron bars of cells.
In one of the Donetsk colonies, there are now 34 Ukrainian prisoners of war. The conditions they are kept in are the same as for usual prisoners. Three meals a day, two hours a day of walking and two hours of watching TV, sauna is once a week.
Alexander has been a prisoner for two years. During this time, as he says, he has reconsidered many things. After the exchange, he’ll go to work at the plant. They’re already waiting.
Alexander: "I want to return home alive, because my parents are waiting for me, first of all. I’m not thinking about myself, I’m thinking about my parents. I was stupid."
They’re waiting for the dearest ones in Donetsk, too. Victoria is waiting for her son. In summer, Semyon Boytsov and his friends went to Odessa for vacation. There, instead of the sea and the sun, they received accusations of terrorism, and a real prison term only because they were from Donetsk.
Victoria Vasilenko, Semyon Boytsov's mother. "For three days he just didn’t get in touch, we started looking for him. In the end, we were called and told that they were arrested".
In Ukrainian prisons, there are not only the Donbass military and militia but many people who were captured because they simply thought differently. The fact that everyone will be exchanged by both Ukraine and the Donbass republics was once again confirmed in Minsk last Wednesday. The lists were agreed upon. 306 people will return to the DPR and LPR, Kiev will receive 74 people. The exchange must happen before the New Year.
Denis Pusilin, DPR’s People's Council Chairman. "There're deadlines for the exchange to take place, there’s an understanding that the lists are approved and no one from outside can influence these lists anymore".
Those who'll return from the Ukrainian captivity to Donbass will start a completely different and a peaceful life, which can be found here despite everything.
At the Shakhtersk city poultry farm, new equipment was installed, and now this enterprise is the largest poultry meat producer in the Republic.
Ilya Musafirov, poultry farm technologist. "The production capacity increased two, two and a half times. Up to a million kilograms per month".
In the DPR’s capital, a new social program called Affordable Sport was launched. In the martial arts club, they are training everyone who is older than 9 years absolutely for free.
Vladimir Markov, sports club director. "In the future, such children, whom we let in through the social program, will be provided with equipment. As much as we can, of course, but we try to provide for all the guys who train here and who don’t have gloves or shoes".
In order to pass on their skills to future champions, well-known fighters, such as Nikita Krylov, regularly come here. The multi-champion in ultimate fighting holds his master classes in Donetsk with special pleasure. After all, he is from these places.
Alexander Bilibov, Dmitry Yushkevich, Yevgeny Tarasov, Andrei Rudenko, and Oleg Bondarenko, Vesti News of the Week, Donbass.
