Near Kyiv, residents are trying to rebuild before winter sets in

(Irpin) On the half-destroyed top floor of an apartment building in Irpin, a war-ravaged suburb of Kyiv, Mykhaylo Kyrylenko proudly watches the new roof take shape.

More than 100 residential buildings in Irpin, called a “heroic city” by President Volodymyr Zelensky for holding back the Russians in their advance to the capital, were badly damaged in the fighting.

After the withdrawal of troops from Moscow at the end of March, the inhabitants now face a new threat: a race against time to repair their homes before the arrival of winter.

“We didn’t wait for help to arrive. I am aware that there is a war in the country,” says Mr Kyrylenko, head of the association of residents of the building, which was hit by four shells in the first days of the invasion , destroying the roof and burning the top floor.

After weeks of fighting, Ukrainian forces retook the town, prompting Mr Kyrylenko, 65, to mobilize residents.

When government experts felt the top floor could be saved, he held a vote, most people were in favor of rebuilding.

“People don’t have a lot of money, but they agreed” to donate funds to gradually restore the damaged apartments, he told AFP, wearing dark blue overalls.

“If we had to wait for the state to help us, then […] we definitely should have dismantled the fifth floor,” he adds.

His organizing efforts soon paid off. Of the 40 apartments in the building, about ten are still inhabited and are reconnected to running water, sewers and electricity, although there is still no gas.

A roof before winter

“The most important thing is to put the roof back in place so that rainwater and snow don’t get inside,” Kyrylenko says, looking at the new beams that are almost all fixed.

The bare brick walls on the sides and the piles of debris on the floor show the extent of the work that remains to be done.

Residents themselves and charitable foundations have already donated large sums, but Kyrylenko says at least two million hryvnias (C$73,000) are still needed to protect the building from winter.

“Eight families now live here and will continue to do so,” he says.

The fourth-floor apartment of one of the residents, Viktor Mourygin, 63, miraculously suffered minimal damage, with only slight marks on the walls visible after days of rain.

Although he was less affected, Mr. Mouryguine joined in the reconstruction effort, both with his money and his work.

“It’s a constant battle against the precipitation. It was necessary to protect not only my apartment, but also the apartments below,” he says.

According to him, three apartments have been saved so far thanks to materials purchased by charities.

While residents of many other Ukrainian towns hit by shelling are desperate for funds for reconstruction, government and local officials say they are aware of the problem.

Prime Minister Denys Chmygal last week announced a government allocation of around 3.4 billion hryvnias (C$120 million) for “operational restoration works”.

According to the mayor of Irpin, Oleksandre Markouchine, much more is needed.

“We are appealing to the entire international community to help us with building materials, with funds,” Mr. Markouchine wrote on social networks.