Film for broken windows and constant voice of war: how frontline Chasiv Yar survives hostilities near Bakhmut

"You can hear it. There's constant shelling. There is war"

Early January. As always, during the Donetsk region winter, it's now colder than in the rest of the country. In the morning, the thermometer shows -19 ℃. Meteorologists forecast -13 ℃ and a clear, cloudless sky which is considered warm for these regions. 

The road from Kharkiv to Chasiv Yar passes through several completely destroyed villages. At first, it seems that there is no one here but us. Whereas the sun promised in the forecast still brightly illuminates the clouds of smoke that, this time, rise from the chimneys and not from the destroyed buildings.

Chasiv Yar is very close to the largest flashpoint of this war — Bakhmut. On January 5, due to another russian shelling of the city, two people were injured, and a high-rise building was severely damaged. We go to the building, and on the way, we listen to a continuous cannonade — very close and heavy battles for Bakhmut.

Few people are on the streets — most locals have evacuated from the city. Moreover, it is cold and loud. Someone doesn't want to leave the apartment, and some are unwilling to leave the basement. Fortunately, all communications work in the city, and the houses have electricity and heating. We meet people along the way. 

Viktor leaves work with an acquaintance, leading his bicycle next to him. 

"Shells fly into the city often, but the explosions are constant. Recently, a high-rise building was bombarded. We are already used to explosions. There is never a time when it's not loud. You can hear it. There's constant shelling. There is a war."

"They gave us some film for the windows and electricity for two entrances"

We see a stadium nearby. The field and running tracks are covered with snow. Training equipment for street sports is cold, waiting for athletes. There is only security at the stadium now. Serhii is on duty today. Above his room on the roof are large letters from the times of the USSR: "Greetings to the participants of the competition." Serhii's last contest is repairing the windows in the apartment of his children's godfather; their building is next to the one that the russians struck on January 5.  

Serhii and Viktor are lucky — they work in utility companies and have guaranteed salaries. There are shops and a market in the city. Compared to the "pre-war" time, the selection is much smaller now. But the men say this is not the biggest problem in the city.

"It bangs and bangs. How do you get used to it? You read the news, where the shell arrived, where it didn't, and whether everyone is alive and well. When the fifth of January came, the house shook so much that I jumped on the bed. At 4:00 a.m., the missile arrived. It's good that no one died," says Serhii.

The blast wave blew out windows in many nearby houses. Stanislav and Viktor are nailing the broken windows in one of the apartments — the home of Stanislav's son. The men live in the private housing sector, so their houses have not been affected. They do not want to leave the city. They say someone has to guard housing. Looters have become a big problem; they quickly rob abandoned apartments.

We meet Oleksandr at the corner. The man removes the remains of broken glass from the sidewalk and sorts the bricks he uses to build over the windows of his shop, where he works together with his wife, Iryna. The store does not stop working, and Oleksandr calls us to come by to get products. We will take advantage of the opportunity in half an hour, but for now, we are moving on.

The most damaged house is nearby, across the street. On the facade, there are numerous signposts to the shelter located in the basement. The shelling happened at 4 in the morning, when everyone was sleeping. The residents of the third floor, Volodymyr and Halyna, were lucky to remain alive — a beam saved them.

The man climbed out from under the rubble and pulled out his wife. Volodymyr has returned to the city, but Halyna is still in the hospital. Her eyes have been damaged. 

While we are walking around, Liudmila comes out to us.

Seven years ago, a fire destroyed her house, so she moved into one of the apartments in this building.

"There is no heating or gas, but there is electricity. The house is currently being conserved, and it is unknown what will happen to it. Everything is broken. All who lived in the house remained alive — all five. They gave us some film for the windows and electricity for two entrances," the woman says.

russian supporters and honey season that has ended

Thanks to the sunny weather, the destruction doesn't seem too terrible. And the locals, despite the constant cannonade, find strength for jokes.

We returned to the store to which we had been invited earlier. The owner, Iryna, meets us at the threshold and takes us inside. The store is full of various goods. However, a special treat awaits us — hot pies with cabbage. Different salads are also prepared and sold here. This way, they support their own.

Iryna says that there are russian supporters in the city who are waiting for russia to come. Due to her principles, she does not sell anything to them. Iryna is especially pleased with the military. They even gave her flowers and were very happy when they returned to the city after the rotation and went to their favorite store again. But the owners are worried. They say they will leave immediately if the russians suddenly take over the city. However, they believe in Ukraine's armed forces and feed and encourage the soldiers.

After drinking and talking with Iryna, we move on. The next stop is the point of invincibility that supports locals during blackouts.

Now it is the middle of the day. Except for Oleh, who is on duty, no one is here. It is warm inside. There is a stove, kettles, cups, chairs, and even toys for children. Oleh says that two weeks ago, when there was no electricity for a long time, there were many people, and now there are significantly fewer visitors. Sometimes someone will come in to drink tea or warm up. Oleh works in a production and housing enterprise in the city of Chasiv Yar and has daily shifts. He says it's a bit boring, but having a charged laptop is good.

Near the point of invincibility is a monument to Maxim Gorky [russian writer and socialist]. It is very unusual — legs, part of the body, and a hand with a hat. His fate has yet to be decided in the future.

We meet Serhii on the way out of the city. With a heartfelt smile, he sells dried fish. Drying and smoking fish is a hobby; Mr. Serhiy is a beekeeper. However, the season has already ended, and he sold all the honey to the Poltava region, where his son lives.

Mr. Serhii is engaged in his hobby because he is not used to sitting idly by. We buy some fish from the man and talk about life near the front for a while. And then, to the sound of new explosions, we move on.