visited one of the many villages located far from the front, which Russia has hit with missiles. Despite the dangers, a large part of the inhabitants of Kušuhumka village have returned.
KUSUHUMKA, UKRAINE There are numerous villages like Kušuhumka in southeastern Ukraine. Here and there you can see old detached houses with neat yards along the dirt roads.
War is far away from here, beyond the reach of artillery fire.
Still, Russia has also hit here in Kušuhumka with expensive missiles. The village is located near the large city of Zaporizhia.
The attacks have come suddenly, without any reasonable explanation.
Vera stands with tears in his eyes in the ruins of the neighboring house. Two weeks ago, his close friend, Taniadied in the middle of the night in a missile strike.
The rescuers wouldn’t have found him in the ruins if the cats hadn’t feasted on the ruins.
Even now, there are several cats and a gentle watchdog in the yard. They have not left their home, even though there is nothing left of the household.
The neighbor took one of the cats in, but it immediately ran away here, says Vera.
Vera doesn’t understand how she survived that night. Russia fired three massive S-300 missiles into the area.
These anti-aircraft missiles were developed to shoot down military aircraft, not to destroy buildings. Over the course of six months, Russia has carried out thousands of missile strikes in different parts of Ukraine.
Vera says that she woke up to the first blow, but collapsed on the floor. He doesn’t remember anything after that, but the neighbors have said that three missiles hit the area.
– The explosion was so loud that my hearing was damaged in one ear, says Vera.
– I wish they would all be shot so they wouldn’t get away with it, Vera suddenly says about the Russians, but immediately apologizes for her language.
– I just can’t forgive them. Tania has one son and he is at the front, she says.
Almost half of the inhabitants fled the war
Kušuhumka village secretary Victoria Krevenko says that Russia has twice hit the village with missiles. The attacks took place in July and August.
About a hundred houses have been destroyed or damaged in the attacks.
– I think it’s genocide. The Russians want to destroy us. There are no soldiers here, just ordinary citizens. They want to destroy us, Krevenko repeats.
According to Krevenko, about forty percent of the village’s 18,000 residents fled the war.
He estimates that most of them have returned despite the dangers.
– I would say that about ten percent of the residents are still elsewhere. People are coming back, even though the danger has actually increased here. The Russian attacks have taken place in recent weeks, Krevenko says.
There are also about a thousand internal refugees in the village. They have fled from the Russian-occupied areas of Melitopol and Tokmak.
Fixing homes is hard
Ludmila Kapran is going shopping at the grocery store in Kušuhumka. He is one of the many who have returned back to the village.
At the beginning of March, she fled with her daughter to the city of Dnipro. But already in April they came back.
– It is life-threatening here, but home is always home. In the beginning, there was huge uncertainty. However, now I am sure that the Russians will not advance here.
According to Ludmila, missile strikes are scary.
– Of course it’s loud here, but our soldiers are fighting against the Russians and everything ends well.
Ludmila says that a large number of workplaces have been closed because of the war. It’s a big challenge. He receives a small subsidy from the state because his daughter has epilepsy.
It is difficult to quickly repair houses to habitable condition. The authorities do not have much help to offer. Instead, volunteers have come to help both from near and far.
Lives nearby Give it fix his house. One of the walls almost broke when a Russian missile hit nearby. The roof was also damaged and the windows were destroyed.
– The villagers have helped and volunteers have also come from further afield. One company donated windows to us, says Anna.
He especially wants to thank the financial help received from abroad. Without it, the house could not have been repaired.
– Prices have risen enormously, especially the prices of building materials, Anna states.