The town of Irpin, a suburb of kyiv, remains today a symbol of the massive destruction wrought at the start of the conflict in Ukraine. Some 60% of the inhabitants have returned to live there, but the reconstruction work remains enormous. Our special envoys went there with Aryna.
With our special correspondents at Irpin, Clea Broadhurst and Julien Boileau
Before the start of the conflict, Aryna, a 17-year-old girl, lived in this Irpinlypki housing estate, now destroyed and covered in soot which has blackened the buildings.
I was in shock, because I was there when the first bomb fell on my building. It was very… “wow! “. And when I came back here and saw how it was now… I have no words.
The smell of burning is still present in the air when one approaches the ruins. Aryna invites us to see the state of her apartment located on the third floor of a gutted building.
It happened on March 28, I know because my grandmother and my uncle were there. My grandmother is fine, but my uncle is dead.
The young girl walks through the rubble of her past. Torn walls, smashed and strewn dishes on the floor.
The first time I came back to my apartment, I just cried. I couldn’t feel anything anymore. I could only cry. It was too hard, that’s where my life was, my childhood… It’s hard. I never imagined this could happen.
As she looks again at the remains of her room, we ask her if her family hopes for help or compensation from the government.
They promised us, but only after the war is over.