Krasnohorivka, Hranitne, Maryinka are the names of the villages on the front line in Donetsk, which are often mentioned in the news about destructive attacks coming from the occupied territories.
Deathly danger for the people, damaged residential buildings and infrastructure: these are the real conditions the local residents have been living in for years now. Their relationship with the Armed Forces of Ukraine is a less visible other side of living on the front line.
“What is it like living in a community together with the military? At first it was scary, but then it got interesting. Overall, it varies. Initially, in 2014, the military was perceived by the residents of the community as a threat,” says Olha Mashutina, the Principal of the Krasnohorivka school, commenting on the relations with the armed people. “This, however, is like communicating in a big family. It’s not always smooth, and all kinds of things happen. But if you communicate, discuss the problems, they tend to disappear, and the family is strong and happy.”
“We do not have an equal footing. That is, we seem to live in the same “house”, but they are wearing body armor and I am unprotected,” says Olha Nut, Deputy Chair of the Mykolaivka Village Council. “There should have been dialogue already at the beginning of these events. People have many questions and there is a feeling that nobody cares about them. If we have these dialogues, we will be able to decide together what to do, when it is safer and when it is not – the entire community will benefit from this. Then, the situation will become more comfortable for the local residents.”
The Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) oversees the establishment of the dialogue between the military and the civilian residents of the front-line communities in Donetsk Oblast as a part of the EU-funded project “Building Capacity for Civilian Protection in Eastern Europe”.
“We discovered that nearly half of the residents of the communities directly affected by the conflict do not know how to communicate with the military and how to discuss their problems with them. They don’t even trust the military,” says Liza Baran, CIVIC Ukraine Country Director. “Therefore we decided to establish dialogue between the civilians and the military to discuss the issue of protection of civilian population, where the people can work together with the military in order to find and implement the solutions.”
Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) officers are an important link in this process, as they act as facilitators of the communication between the local residents and the military stationed in the front-line communities. In 2020, the training of such specialists was launched within the framework of the project. The first module of the training course on developing negotiation, communication and dialogue facilitation skills based on the Harvard’s method was held in Svyatohirsk.
The civil-military dialogues took place in 2021.
“They are very important, as they allow us to establish this civil-military interaction,” says Valentyna Strutynska, CIMIM Officer. “Any problems of the civilians can be resolved in the format of dialogues.”
In recent months, there have been many reports on positive interaction between the military and civilians in the conflict zone.
For example, in September 2021, the military of the Joint Forces Operation helped move the property of Strumok kindergarten in Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast, to a new building.
In November, they helped organize a trip for the children from Hranitne to Kaniv for an excursion.
Sometimes, the military helps people deal with the consequences of the attacks, as was the case in summer in Vodyane, Mariupol County, Donetsk Oblast, which is one of the hotspots.
“Hi, honey!” a local resident hugs and greets the soldier she’s become acquainted with. Back then, in August, the village did not have power as a result of another attack. The military helped restore power supply and also brought humanitarian aid.
“We communicate with them very often; we come almost every week,” tells servicewoman Olena. “We ask them about their problems, help fix some things, bring food.”
The situation is still clearly far from ideal, and there are still things to work on. The European Union continues to facilitate establishment of the dialogue and trusting relations between the civilian population and the military participating in the Joint Forces Operation in the East of Ukraine.
“Civilians caught up in the conflict must be active participants in creating a better protective environment,” says Liza Baran, CIVIC Ukraine Country Director.
Sources
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