Russia’s war of aggression has destroyed the economy of industrialized eastern Ukraine. visited the factory destroyed by Russia, which was supposed to build the pressure boiler of the Fennovoima nuclear power plant.
The constant danger of Russian fire is not the only concern in the midst of war. That’s why there are enough people in front of the food distribution points.
In Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, almost everyone is dependent on humanitarian aid. The majority have fled the war, many of the remaining residents are either retired or temporarily unemployed.
World Central Kitchen distributes food bags daily. The names of the beneficiaries are registered. The demand exceeds the supply and therefore it is necessary to monitor how much help everyone gets.
In addition to food, a big problem is gas and electricity. They only work occasionally and because of that, for example, preparing warm food is difficult.
The operation of the distribution point is organized by a rough man named Ihor Kalimbets. He is also unemployed, like so many other industrial workers in Kramatorski.
Before the Russian invasion, Ihor worked in one of the city’s largest industrial plants, Energomashspetsstal.
It turns out that this is the very facility that was supposed to manufacture the pressure vessel for Fennovoima’s new nuclear power plant.
– Yes, we already received training on Finland’s nuclear safety. Now the Russians have destroyed the factory with missiles, and Finland has given up on Hanhikive, Ihor states.
“Many smelled like old booze”
The arrangement was special because the supplier of the nuclear power plant, Rosatom, is an integral part of the Russian state.
In eastern Ukraine, Russia waged a hybrid war against Ukraine for almost eight years before the major attack in February.
– I think the Finns visited a similar factory in Russia. I heard that the Finns chose us because many people smelled like old booze in a Russian establishment. There were problems with quality anyway. Our operations are modern and professional.
We go to see a huge steel plant located on the edge of the city of Kramatorsk. From a distance, you can clearly see where the Russian missiles have hit. Ihor shares the videos he shot of the interior of the industrial plant.
– Russia fired four missiles here. There is a huge amount of oil in the building, which burned for two days. According to Russian propagandists, there was a weapons depot here, but any local can tell you that’s not true. After the Russian hits there were no explosions here.
Food bags for the elderly
Kramatorsk is the most important Ukrainian-controlled city in Donbas, eastern Ukraine. Before the war, half a million people lived in the area, now a large part has fled.
Many people have died in Kramatorsk under Russian fire, but the nearby Slovyansk and Bakhmut are even closer to the Russian attack and the target of more intense fire.
We go with the volunteers of the World Central Kitchen organization to take food bags to the elderly who cannot pick them up from the city center.
It is generally difficult to move around in Kramatorsk and other war zones in Donbass. Only a small part of the public transport works.
Another problem is the price of fuel, which is skyrocketing. People can’t afford to gas up their cars.
The majority of the inhabitants of Kramatorsk have fled the war. Closer to the front, small towns and villages are almost deserted.
Too old to go
The retired Misha and Give it live in a Soviet-era apartment building in the center of Kramatorsk. Anna can’t move.
– I lie in this bed and think about how heavy that ceiling is. Am I going to die when the cement collapses on me in an air strike, Anna says from the bed.
– We are too old to run away. We have lived and worked in Kramatorski all our lives. Why would we leave, Misha answers.
Both are more concerned about the future of their children and grandchildren.
– We support the Ukrainian army and hope that they will win the war. Then our children and grandchildren would have a future, says Misha.
They depend on humanitarian aid.
Childhood traumas 70 years ago
Anna’s mother also lives in the apartment. He is already 96 years old and remembers the events of World War II.
Germany occupied Kramatorski for almost two years until the Red Army recaptured the city. Anna was 15 years old then.
– There was a lot of snow. There was a shortage of food. We lived in the basement for a month until the Germans burned down the house and forced us out into the freezing winter.
As the eldest of ten siblings, Anna had great responsibility for the youngest in the family. Mother was pregnant.
– My sister, three years younger, was shot, but she lived to be 74 years old. I saved his life when I pulled him in from the snow. Others said he wouldn’t survive, Annan recalls with tears in her eyes.
More than 70 years later, he remembers those traumatic moments of the Second World War.
A large number of children from Kramatorski have fled the Russian attack and indiscriminate firing.
Will they remember the traumatic moments of their own childhood 70 years from now?
Did you have any thoughts? You can discuss the topic until Saturday 20 August until 11 pm.