This week the Mirror witnessed numerous stories of tragedy during a visit to Zaporizhia, a region at war and partly occupied by Russia, but locals continue to show resilience.
A little girl carefully colors a heart while her mother creates a picture of the insane evil of war.
Elena Prokhorenko, whose family lives near Ukraine’s front line with Russia, shares the horror her daughter is experiencing. “She is very scared. There were explosions,” Elena says. “And when the shahids [drones] fly, she runs to me, hugs me, cries, trembles.”
The tender age of five-year-old Anastasia means she has hardly known any other life. Three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, this is the reality of life next to the fighting. We witnessed many stories of tragedy this week during our visit to Zaporizhia, a region partly occupied by Russia. Vladimir Putin has already wrongly claimed that the region belongs to Moscow in 2022 – but locals remain resilient.
The Kremlin's attacks on the region and city of the same name are regular, the latest about 25 miles from the front line. Photographer Rowan Griffiths and I sought cover many times during our visit. Many of the warning signs seem to come after nightfall.
The sound of drones being intercepted could be heard in the city for a week. It’s not uncommon – the hum of conflict echoes around the place. The drones are called “scooters” here because of the moped-like sound they make, I was told. Dark humor has its place when you live in hell.
One morning, after sheltering in place the night before, we learned that there had been more than 500 attacks in the region, including 271 drone strikes. Last month, Russian attacks killed 13 civilians in a single day and wounded more than 100. On Thursday, we visited a village about 40 miles from the fighting, the day after Donald Trump bizarrely called Ukraine’s democratically elected leader Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator.” If only the US president could see the courage of ordinary people in places like this.
Married mother-of-two Olena says the “dictator” is on the other side – a clear reference to Putin. The 31-year-old visited a community centre with her youngest child in the village of Podgornoye, where she lives with her husband and 11-year-old daughter. UK-Med, a British charity that provides primary healthcare to local residents, has been supporting the village of 130 people since late last year.
One woman came simply to tell us her story – she wants the world to know. Proud grandmother Yevgeniya Sakhan used her phone to show us her home, which has been in ruins for 20 years – and burst into tears. The destroyed property is located in Hulyaipole, a nearby town to the south, right on the edge of the fighting. “I hope we will return home someday,” she says.
The 52-year-old mother of two also showed footage from the hospital basement where she and her family took refuge — along with dozens of others — at the start of the war. Her granddaughter, born the day after the full-scale invasion, was also there. The footage showed Spartan beds pushed together and her 14-year-old son clutching a rabbit.
There were more tears when we spoke to Nadya Borodina, the secretary of the village council. The grandmother, who has two children, was overcome with emotion when I asked her what life was like after the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“This village doesn't get attacked very often, but we do get attacks, especially with drones… We had a drone attack and one of them hit just 100 meters from our house,” she said. “People just believe and try to hope for the best, try to hope for the best, but they can't because everything has been taken away from them. The calm and peaceful days, they don't have that anymore.”
Nadiya is a fan of Boris Johnson. The former prime minister may be a controversial figure in Britain, but his support for Ukraine during the country's darkest hours has not been forgotten here.
Returning to the city, we witnessed a scene of devastation. The cultural center, named after a famous poet, was in ruins. Our translator told us that this was where she spent her school day.
Sourse: www.mirror.co.uk
