On the front line, the small peasants of Donbass resist: the story of the special envoy of Le Figaro

In Rai-Olexandrivska, Bakhmout and Riznykivka

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Whichever way he turns, Alexei, his family, his home and his land are exposed to the threat of a strike.

Behind him, on the road leading to Siversk, the priority target of the Russian forces in their advance towards Sloviansk, are the artillery positions of the Ukrainian soldiers.

Near the eight hectares of the property, a dirt shortcut taken by khaki vehicles sinks in the direction of the trenches.

In front of him, stand grain silos, likely to constitute a target.

At the entrance to the village of Raï-Olexandrivska, the property of the small farmer is isolated.

The cannon thunders at a steady pace, and the 58-year-old cuts wood under the scorching sun.

"

hard," says the silent peasant, piling up a meager stock of logs for the winter.

With his mother Raïssa, a tottering 81-year-old babushka, wearing a kerchief on her head and busy sorting grass on a bench, Alexei is the only one in the…

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