Ukraine-Russia conflict: the harshness of life in a Ukrainian village

Nevelske (Ukraine) bears the scars of the conflict. This village, located near the front line between separatist supporters of Russia and the Ukrainian army, had 286 inhabitants in 2014, there are still five mid-december 2021. The others have fled since the conflict broke out on the Russian-Ukrainian border. A third of the houses were destroyed by the clashes which continue three kilometers away.

Only the more aged stayed. Donetsk, the nearest town, seceded under the control of the separatists. The last inhabitants are as if cut off from the world. They have nothing left to eat except bread. To get water, an elderly woman collects rainwater that she boils. “It’s not a life, if we weren’t young, we could leave, do housework elsewhere “, alarmed another elderly Ukrainian. To help them, humanitarian associations distribute some food. Since the start of the conflict, two million people have had to flee the region of Donbass and 14,000 died in the fighting.