ウクライナ東部最前線の住民「いつ戦争になってもおかしくない」

【スチャースチイェＡＦＰ＝時事】ウクライナ東部ルガンスク州の政府軍と親ロシア派武装勢力がにらみ合う最前線で、年金を頼りに暮らすライサ・シマノブナ）さん（９０）は、夜こそアパートの自室で眠るが、激しさを増す砲撃から身を守るため、日中は地下シェルターに避難している。（写真はウクライナ東部ルガンスク州スチャースチイェで、地下シェルターに向かう女性）
　シマノブナさんが暮らすスチャースチイェは政府側が掌握する地域にある。「幸福」を意味する町に流れる川に架かる橋は新型コロナウイルス対策の規制で封鎖されるまで、政府側と親ロ派側を結ぶ数少ない渡河点の一つとなっていた。
　しかし、ロシアのウラジーミル・プーチン大統領が親ロ派支配地域の独立を承認し、同地へのロシア軍駐留を命じたことで、再び戦闘の最前線となった。
　シマノブナさんは深紅のスカーフで顔を覆い、懐中電灯を手に地下シェルターに下りながら「みんないつ戦争になってもおかしくないと思っている」と語った。
　シマノブナさんが暮らす旧ソ連時代に建てられたアパートは、境界の川につながる運河に面している。町の電力供給設備が被弾したため、電気も暖房も水道も止まっている。１０室中７室の住民は避難したが、シマノブナさんら行く当てのない３室の住民が残されている。
　スチャースチイェは２１日から２２日にかけての夜に砲撃を受けた。ワレンティナ・シュマトコワさん（５９）は、２部屋あるアパートの窓ガラスすべてが割れる音で目を覚ましたという。
　シュマトコワさんは部屋を片付けながら「こんな事態になろうとは予想だにしなかった。ウクライナとロシアが合意できないだなんて」「紛争になるとは思わなかった。ウクライナとロシアの大統領は賢明で合理的だと思っていた」と述べた。
　プーチン氏の独立承認についてどう思うかを尋ねると、シュマトコワさんは「何が起きているのかさっぱり分からない。明かりも電気も何もないのだから！」と笑って答えた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/02/24-11:49）

Ninety-year-old Raisa Simanovna still sleeps in her flat on the frontline in eastern Ukraine but goes down into the cellar in the daytime to shelter from the ever more intense shelling and mortar fire.
Located in territory held by Ukrainian forces on the border with the separatist Lugansk republic backed by Russia, the town of Schastya -- which means happiness -- has been a symbol of promise in a conflict which began in 2014.
Before it was closed down due to Covid restrictions, the bridge over the Donetsk, the river that flows through the town, was one of the rare crossing points between the two sides.
The town is once again on a volatile frontline following President Vladimir Putin's move to recognise the separatist self-proclaimed republics of Lugansk and Donetsk and order Russian troops in.
And the Soviet-era apartment block in which Simanovna lives is on a canal that connects to the river, right on that frontline.
We are expecting war any hour, any minute, said the pensioner, her face wrapped in a scarlet-coloured kerchief as she descended into the cellar with an electric torch in hand.
The electricity, heating and water in her building have been cut off after shelling hit the town's power supply.
Like the few neighbours she has left, Simanovna has nowhere to go. Out of the 10 flats in her part of the building, only three are occupied.
- 'We weren't expecting this' -
In the night between Monday and Tuesday, the area came under fire and residents could be seen cleaning up the damage.
Valentina Shmatkova, 59, said she was woken up by all the windows in her two-room apartment shattering.
We spent the war in the basement, she said while clearing up her flat, referring to the most intense years of the conflict between 2014 and 2016.
But we weren't expecting this. We never thought Ukraine and Russia wouldn't end up agreeing.
I didn't think there would be a conflict. I thought our president and the Russian president were intelligent and reasonable people, she said.
I have one request: that they sort this out and we can forget about this misunderstanding!
Asked what she thought of Putin's decision to recognise the separatists, Shmatkova laughed: I have no idea what's going on, we have no light, no electricity, nothing!
- 'We have to leave' -
The shelling and mortar fire gradually intensified as the day progressed. Deafening explosions began shaking the walls and set off car alarms.
Black smoke could be seen billowing from the local power station after it took a hit.
They're aiming for the bridge, one man said calmly as the ground shook under him, before lugging a heavy box to his 4x4.
Nearby, Daniil and his father sat smoking on a bench outside their home.
The younger man, who is unemployed, said he wanted to stay in Schastya despite the lack of jobs but Putin's speech would change things.
They recognised the republics and, if they recognised the republics, that means there will be an escalation. And if there is an escalation, that means we have to leave.