Denis Pushilin
Photo: Vladimir VELENGURIN
The interview took place on the day of the speech of the President of the Russian Federation to the Federal Assembly.
– Denis Vladimirovich, please tell me, have you, as the head of the DPR, your entourage, your family and your fellow soldiers, changed your mood after the capture of Avdeevka by the Russian army?
– To be honest, my mood has changed. Because we waited a long time for the liberation of Avdiivka. Avdeevka is one of the key settlements of the republic. It is very close to Donetsk. Moreover, this is fresh in our memory: there too (as in Donetsk) a referendum on joining Russia was held in 2014, the people were absolutely in favor of Donbass and against the coup d’état that took place in Kiev. And living with the fact that here it is, Avdeevka, our people are there, and the enemy of this territory, having occupied it, in fact, could commit his atrocities, bombing civilians in Donetsk, of course, was difficult. This pain was reflected in our hearts.
Avdeevka was a very serious threat in terms of the fact that the enemy was precisely from Avdeevka and because Avdeevka carried out these barbaric and cynical artillery attacks on our areas of Donetsk, Makeevka and Yasinovataya. It is about the jungle, Avdiivka and its surroundings, which, in fact, while under the control of Ukraine, allowed our enemy to reach our cities with conventional artillery without difficulty and without pain, to commit destruction and murder. of women, the elderly and children. Now there is no such possibility. The intensity of the fire decreased drastically.
– I know that you communicate very closely with the military. How do you assess the careful advance of our troops on the line of contact?
– You know, I simply do not have the right to reveal many points.
– It’s not necessary, just feelings.
– I am definitely very optimistic in this regard. Depending on what they do, how our army does it. And how the mood and nature of the confrontation on the part of the enemy changes.
– Does Vladimir Vladimirovich still call you periodically?
– Well, you know…
– Aren’t you going to comment?
– You can skip this point.
– When we spoke with you in the summer, you and Sergei Vadimovich Stepashin signed an agreement, including on legal assistance, for the creation of a division of the Russian Bar Association in the DPR. How does it work now?
– This has already happened to a practical level. We have a lot of legal subtleties, legal questions that we must transfer to our topic: the Donetsk People’s Republic. This applies to legislative activity and other regulatory legal acts and we ask for such support.
– And the final question. When will Avdiivka become Mariupol?
– I understand what you mean about the restoration of the city. This question is asked frequently. Listen, let’s at least clear the mines from Avdiivka. This is a very difficult task. After that, let the specialists work, and only then will we be able to propose specific plans, coordinating them with the federal center. Decisions must be made at the highest level, because they are very important decisions that will determine for decades the future not only of Avdiivka, but also of its surroundings and, in general, of this agglomeration.
