The Russian offensive is increasingly intensifying in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv authorities on Tuesday condemned “catastrophic destruction” in Lysychansk in neighboring Severodonetsk, where about 570 people took shelter at the Nitrogen chemical plant. Despite this, many Donbass residents are resisting and refusing to leave this strategic area in the face of Moscow’s onslaught as best they can.
The Russian offensive is increasingly intensifying in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv authorities on Tuesday condemned “catastrophic destruction” in Lysychansk in neighboring Severodonetsk, where about 570 people took shelter at the Nitrogen chemical plant. Despite this, many Donbass residents are resisting and refusing to leave this strategic area in the face of Moscow’s onslaught as best they can.
After almost four months of war, the daily lives of the residents of Donbass are extremely difficult. Everything is missing in the area, besides the Russian shots that are getting closer and closer. In the village of Starodubivka, just a few hundred meters from the front, the population ran out of water. “We only have one well for the whole village,” says Kateryna, a resident in her 60s who is shopping in a dark market.
“We also don’t have electricity. So we keep everything in the basement, in a cooler place to preserve food. We live without electricity,” he repeats. “But we can’t do anything. The thing I fear most is the coming of winter. But I was born here and I will die here,” she insists.
Kateryna’s expression is common in various cities of the Donbass, where part of the population prefers to stay in their homes, despite the conflicts increasingly close to housing. “We are working with humanitarian aid and we know it is dangerous as we are the target of Russian forces. [como nós]“There are a lot of people left in Kramatorsk,” explains Aleksander Ivanov, a volunteer working in the area.
“When we started, we distributed aid to about 100 people a day,” he says in front of his truck full of packages to be delivered. “Right now, we distribute bags of food to 500 people a day. Many people even tried to leave, but they came back because they had no money and no place to sleep. So they went home,” he says.
Residents gather in front of the humanitarian center early in the morning. For many, this is the only way to obtain food and other basic needs.
While waiting in line with some of her friends, Zoya said, “Did you see the prices in the markets or at the fair?” says. “We can’t even plant anything in our gardens because we don’t have water,” he says. “How can we survive in these conditions? We spend our lives on these helplines. Everyone is nervous, some are sick and they can’t get medicine. Not even our pensions are paid,” he explains.
“There was bullets everywhere”
Most of the villagers flee only when they have no other choice and the bombers are too close. “Houses were set on fire and people died. That’s why we left,” says Valentina, an elderly woman who left Avdiivka in the south of Donbass. “It wasn’t possible to stay there anymore. There was no water, no electricity, no more,” she says as she gets off the train with tears.
“There was no one else in the streets. There were bullets everywhere. It’s terrible… I don’t want that to happen to anyone,” he says, before composing: “But we hope to be able to come back one day, because we left everything behind”.
source: Noticias
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