Relatives can order evacuation help from organizations for their loved ones left in the war zone, but many do not want to leave.
TŠASIV JAR The roar of war is near. The Bahmut front line is only four kilometers from here.
Still Tatiana and Down calmly draw water from a well in the center of the small town of Chasiv Jar. The couple has a trailer full of water tanks.
– We have dogs, cats and ten cows. We can’t leave them, says Tatjana.
The Ukrainian defense forces fire on the Russians from the edge of the city. Russian projectiles are also hitting the city center, where a small number of residents are still holding out.
Almost everyone you meet on the street has reached retirement age.
– There is no water, gas or heat. There is constant firing here. What is this, says Tatjana.
In the morning, a Russian cluster bomb killed a man at a railroad crossing right near the city center.
The authorities would like everyone to leave frontline settlements like Chasiv Yar, but there are always residents who refuse.
There are many reasons. Tatjana and her husband Aleh are drawn to animals.
Others plead that they have nowhere to go, even though authorities and organizations are organizing evacuations to different cities. Refugees are accommodated there as best they can.
Many can’t even say why they stayed. The trauma of war acts as a barrier to leaving for a safer place.
Tatjana is no longer amused by explosions
A loud explosion is heard nearby. It doesn’t bother Tatiana.
– Normal, he says.
There is more gunfire at night. Then the couple is in the basement of the detached house.
– Can you even call it a basement now, smiles Aleh.
Since last summer, Russia has been trying to capture the city of Bahmut in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Russia has sacrificed a huge amount of crew and military equipment to the operation. Still, Bahmut is in Ukrainian hands.
The city of Bahmut is practically the front line, and no one but soldiers can go there. The entrance route is very dangerous.
The neighboring settlement of Chasiv Jari can be reached via a couple of roads.
There are almost no families with children in Chasiv Jar. Tatjana assures that everyone has left.
Tatjana and Aleh’s children are already adults and elsewhere.
Humanitarian aid is brought to frontline settlements. Bread and food are distributed in downtown buildings.
Humanitarian aid is essential, but it also makes evacuations more difficult.
– We’ll be fine. We get food aid and fetch water from the well.
Despite the food aid, life in Chasiv Jar is dangerous. Tatjana and Aleh talk about acquaintances who have died in the Russian shooting.
– They sat at home and died in splintered armchairs. It hurts, says Aleh.
Relatives order evacuations for the elderly in the war zone
For the past couple of months, Russian forces have been approaching Chasiv Yar. The Russians are besieging the city of Bahmut from three directions.
Ukraine’s defense has still held and the attack has been very difficult for the Russian forces.
Ukrainian defenders are also killed and wounded a lot. According to the Ukrainian leadership, this is a decisive defensive battle that cannot be lost before the promised counterattack in the spring.