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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Dan Sabbagh in Kramatorsk. Photographs by Julia Kochetova

‘These are Ukrainian lands’: people in Donetsk pour scorn on Putin’s territorial demands

Personal notes in a cafe in Kramamtorsk
Personal notes in a cafe in Kramamtorsk. Among them: ‘Kramatorsk, Mariupol, glory to Ukraine’. Photograph: Julia Kochetova/The Guardian

In a branch of the Ukrainian coffee chain Lviv Croissants in the frontline city of Kramatorsk, there is a noticeboard where people leave coloured Post-it notes with simple hand-drawn messages. One just says “Kramatorsk”, with red hearts below and a yellow and blue semi-circular fan above, the colours of Ukraine.

Among those looking at the notes is Bohdan, a 26-year-old, who has been serving in the army for the past three years. The soldier, now in logistics, has chosen to spend his one day off in Kramatorsk with his dog Arnold to photograph for himself recent Russian bombing on a city where he was based for 18 months.

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