Pre-counteroffensive mood in one frontline town
"Who needs us here if no one is interested in us, even in Zaporizhzhia?" - a man asks me. He is in his late forties and serves as one of the chiefs of the police department in the small town of Orikhiv. This town is 30 kilometers from Zaporizhzhia, the center of a region that is more than half occupied by Russia, and where in September 2022, the Russians held a fake referendum on "joining" the Russian Federation.
The distance from the outskirts of Orikhiv to the nearest occupation positions is about 5 kilometers. This distance could be covered in an hour on foot if it were possible. Right beyond Orikhiv are towns and villages that are in the so-called gray zone. This means that local authorities do not control them, and sabotage and reconnaissance groups can periodically enter them.
Source: Deepstatemap.live
The specifics of life in the frontline towns in this region are such that the enemy can be so close that you can even see him. There is no accumulation of military equipment or massive fortifications around, as, for example, in Bakhmut, a city in the Donetsk region that has been standing as a fortress for several months now, defending itself against the Russian army's offensive. According to the definition of the General Staff, Orikhiv is in a "green zone," meaning that you can get there without special permits. Nevertheless, the occupiers are shelling Orikhiv and other towns along the Zaporizhzhia front line every hour with mortars, Grad rockets, and cruise missiles.
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