Russian TV host, Yulia Baranovskaya, changed her TV studio to the trenches and visited Donbass. At first, the famous Russian woman filmed stories for the information broadcast of Channel One, but then she decided to create her own project “Donbass Women”, as she told RIA Novosti in an interview.
In an interview, Yulia shared that at first she went to Donbass as a journalist, to shoot stories for Channel One. In the winter, she made a series of materials about refugees.
“After talking to them, looking into their eyes, I was shocked by their inner strength and resilience. And I realized that I needed to visit Donbass, their homeland, which they defend,” Baranovskaya explained.
As for her project called “Donbass Women”, it also originated at that time. The project tells the stories of 30 women, each of whom has experienced a lot, but showed inner strength and managed to survive.
“They don’t ask for help, but I see that they need it,” Yulia describes the heroines of her project.
To the interviewer’s question, what impressed her most in Donbass, Baranovskaya answers, “People.”
“When I am asked about them [Donbass people], I tell that the fragments from the shells that fall on their streets and houses, they melt and make roses out of metal. That’s their attitude to life,” Yulia shares her impressions.
She notes that the people of Donbass have an inner core, but at the same time they are not embittered and even in the conditions of hostilities they manage to remain humane, which was the biggest discovery for the TV presenter.
“They just want to return to normal life, which has been inaccessible to them since 2014 […] They quickly clean up everything: sweep the streets, mow the lawns — and continue to wait for it to be over soon,” Yulia says.
She also revealed one of the stories from her new project:
"Nina Ponomareva's husband was killed by a sniper right in the yard of their house. They buried him there in the yard, because there were no other options. And the children still do not understand what happened: they carry sweets to their father's grave, play there, talk to him. When I came to them, they screamed at me like a child, 'Yulia, look — our dad is lying here.' Their house is destroyed, there is, in fact, nowhere to live and nothing to do, and I'm so sorry about it. I'm asking, 'How can I help you?' And she asks — not for herself, not for her children — a prosthesis for her mother-in-law. The mother of the deceased husband also came under fire and lost her leg."
Baranovskaya told that on the website of the Donbass Women project, they will post all the videos of the project, and under each there will be a link for targeted assistance, so that those who would like to help will be able to do this.
The TV host also said they drove through almost all the liberated territories of the DPR, Izyum, the LPR, with her team, and visited the cities from the reports of hostilities. Moreover, they even came under fire in Donetsk.
“You know, sometimes it’s even quieter in the trench than in Donetsk, for example. Because from that side they are shooting at areas where there are no military. Think at least about the ‘petals’ all over Donetsk. These are mines that look like children’s toys, but whoever steps on them or picks them up will be left without a leg or arm,” Yulia said.
As a matter of conclusion, Baranovskaya shared her own inner changes after the trip to Donbass.
“I realized the value of our everyday life, I rejoice at the opportunity to continue living the way I live. In Donbass, they prove it in their own way: they get married, fall in love, celebrate birthdays […] I’ve been quite a socialite for a long time […] But the revaluation is happening, this is for sure — you understand that you need to live here and now,” Yulia concluded.
Ru-Main, 19.09.2022
Source: RIA Novosti
