Valerii Marchenko told the Decentralisation portal about the full-fledged support by the residents of the Ukrainian army, about rascists’ crimes and his own great desire to rebuild the city after the war

Author: Dmytro Synyak

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Exactly five years ago, I first came to the city of Izyum, Kharkiv oblast, to make a news report on civilian life in the anti-terrorist operation zone. Mayor Valerii Marchenko, a former businessman and one of the most active financiers of local self-defense during the Maidan revolution, spoke about large-scale plans for the development of Izyum, which had been then partially implemented. Mr. Marchenko wanted to turn Izyum into a powerful tourist center of Eastern Ukraine, among other things, he spoke about attracting more than 35 million UAH of grant funds in just two years. The Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) was then at its own expense overhauling two kindergartens and a school in Izyum supplied with electricity from solar panels located on the roofs. The German corporation GIZ also renovated kindergartens and schools free of charge, replaced windows and insulated facades in two more kindergartens, and rebuilt the city’s idle educational and industrial complex into a dormitory for internally displaced persons from the occupied Donbas. TODAY, ALL THIS IS IN RUINS, and the answers of Mr. Marchenko, who could talk hours about development and investment search before, have become utterly short. The fate of the city is now decided not by local authorities, but by the Ukrainian military.

What is the current situation in the city?

- There is no more city. Everything we were doing for eight years has been smashed, burned, looted. In addition, Russian troops destroyed what our parents had been building in Izyum for decades. Izyum is now Mariupol in miniature. Hospitals, kindergartens and houses are completely destroyed. About 80% of multi-storey residential buildings are in ruins. We are constantly bombarded by artillery and planes.

Were the city residents evacuated?

- Only partially. Many remained in their homes, hoping the fighting would end quickly. Now these people are escaping to the basements. There is no possibility to get them out of there, because the Russian side has not provided humanitarian corridors for two weeks. Russia destroys Izyum together with the residents, it does not care about human destinies. The part of the city beyond the Siversky Donets is occupied, and we hardly know what happens to the locals. Because we don’t have a mobile or any other connection. There is also no water, gas, heating or light. The ruins of Izyum are no longer fit for life.

Is it possible to deliver humanitarian aid to Izyum?

- Not at all. Izyum is completely blocked.

 

 

Have there been any cases of local residents being deported to Russia?

- Yes, some were indeed deported to Russia through occupied Kupyansk. However, I cannot say that such cases were frequent.

Is there any information on how the Russian army behaves in the occupied part of Izyum?

- First of all, they rob stores. They break locks, take away the most valuable things, and later some locals join this process. As a result, they loot everything. I know that the Russians are actively looking for Ukrainian police officers, members of the territorial defense, anti-terrorist operation veterans and, of course, deputies of the city council in the occupied territories. But, as far as I know, all deputies managed to evacuate from the Russian-occupied area in time. The racsists offered me personally cooperation by phone at the very beginning, but I sent them in the direction of the Russian warship.

How important was the role of the territorial defense detachments in defending the city?

- They played a role in holding back the invaders for a while. But now everything depends solely on the Ukrainian army. If it knocks out the occupiers, Izyum will have a future. Eventually we will rebuild everything very quickly, and I have a great desire to do it as soon as possible. The main thing now is to keep Izyum, to keep Ukraine in Kharkiv oblast. This is understood by almost all residents who, as they can, are now helping its defenders. But I do not think it is worth talking about this help in detail. Because the city streets and suburbs have become the most tense point of the whole Kharkiv oblast in recent days. After all, Izyum is the gates of Donbas. That’s where the enemy is rushing, trying to surround the Ukrainian troops there. But we believe in our victory and are ready to do everything possible and impossible for it.