Donbass, a region devastated by war

For hundreds of meters, we see only collapsed roofs and gutted facades. In the small village of Oktyabrsky (Donbass), between 2014 and 2015, the fighting to take the airport was particularly violent. Today, Oktyabrsky looks like a ghost town. “Ukraine has destroyed the Donbass”testifies a resident.

For eight years, part of this territory has been controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Clashes with Ukrainian forces continue along the contact line between Donbass and Ukraine. In the village of Oktyabrsky, a resident is forced, for lack of means, to stay two kilometers from the front line. In her cellar, she has built a makeshift shelter where her family hides at the slightest alarm. A new church is under construction, after the one in the village was destroyed in 2014-2015.