Bakhmut in flames. How people survive in the heat of the battle for the city
Bakhmut is now the epicentre of hostilities and is the hottest spot on the frontline. The battle for one of Donetsk Oblast’s cities has been going on since mid-summer. Day and night, Ukrainian soldiers defend their land against the Russian occupying forces.
Ninety per cent of the residents of the city of Bakhmut and of Bakhmut hromada [an administrative unit designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories – ed.] have left the hell of Bakhmut for safer places. However, about 8,000 residents remain in the city under literally non-stop fire every day.
Two Internally Displaced Persons from Bakhmut, who had to leave their homes to flee from the Russian invasion, describe how local people survive amidst Russian mines, rockets and bombs.
Shocking destruction
The centre of Bakhmut has been almost completely destroyed and burned to the ground. Tetiana describes the city. She left Bakhmut in March, but many of her friends and acquaintances stayed behind. They are telling her about the situation in their hometown.
Tetiana does not give her last name because of the threat to the life and health of her family.
"The houses of most of my friends have been hit, and it is nearly impossible to live there. People have literally become homeless," says a resident of Bakhmut, "Many of my relatives' houses have been struck. A projectile hit the house of one of my friends recently. Fortunately, my friend was hiding in the basement. He felt a very powerful blow. It turned out to be a Grad rocket, but it miraculously did not explode. However, the building was badly damaged: even the floor of the house and, therefore, the basement ceiling were affected.
My friend has lost his own business in addition to the house: it was hit as well. And one of the projectiles struck his mother's house, destroying the whole kitchen. There was also a hit to the multi-storey building where my sister lives: several floors collapsed, a big fire broke out, and windows were blown out. These are in different districts of the city, in other words, they [Russian forces – ed.] are shooting everywhere".
According to Tetiana, the shopping mall in the city centre, located near the town hall, has been ruined. The railway station has also been completely destroyed; schools and hospitals have been damaged. Most of the infrastructure and housing stock has been bombed.
"Enemy bombs are falling regularly. Our citizens were even working in their gardens under the bombs in spring, and now they are similarly out collecting water. Russians are attacking the city using heavy artillery, Grads [multiple rocket launchers – ed.], and aerial bombs. They are attacking [the city] around the clock. The breaks between attacks are so short that people barely have time to run from one basement to another to share food. Many of the men I worked with are now serving in Ukraine’s Armed Forces, defending our land," says Tetiana.
The only joy and a great support now available in Bakhmut is the invincibility centre. Here you can warm up, have some food, charge your phones and call your family. But other than that, there is for the most part no communication in the city.
"I would like to tell you another interesting story about the "education" and literacy of Russians. There is a school, known as School No. 23, in Horlivka [Donetsk Oblast], near Bakhmut, where Vasyl Stus [Ukrainian poet, translator, literary critic, journalist, and an active member of the Ukrainian dissident movement, who was illegally imprisoned and killed by the Communist totalitarian regime – ed.] used to work: there he taught Ukrainian language and literature in the 1960s. And just imagine: in more than eight years of occupation, the Russians have shown no interest in who Stus was. They have not even tried to fill this gap in their education. The plaque indicating that Vasyl Stus lived and worked here still hangs in Horlivka," Tetiana laughs.
Food problems
There has been no electricity, gas, heating or water supply in Bakhmut since April 2022. People are literally living in basements, and they hardly ever go outside. They cook food on stoves brought by volunteers. People use these stoves to keep warm.
Not a single supermarket in the city has been working for quite a long time; only a dozen small shops throughout Bakhmut are open. By way of comparison: before the war, there had been almost 600 shops in the city. Pharmacies are not working, either. Only one has managed to "survive", however, it is very short of medicines. Food, medicine and hygiene products are available in Bakhmut only in the form of humanitarian aid.
"People bring cereal, stew, and canned food. However, there is a big problem with bread. The food situation was complicated back in March, and even then, the residents of Bakhmut supported each other with everything they could. Those who had some food put it in bags and took it outside, leaving it near people’s houses. And those who needed food took these bags.
The drinking water situation is difficult. It is brought in by water trucks, but that water must be boiled before drinking. In addition, standing in a queue under fire is extremely dangerous. Volunteers have not been able to deliver water to my friend in one of the districts of Bakhmut. That is why people somehow scrambled out of their shelters and quickly ran to another basement to get some water," Tetiana said.
Over 100,000 people lived in Bakhmut before Russia’s invasion of Donbas. About 70,000 inhabitants lived in the city before the full-scale invasion. Currently, there are only 8,000.
"Initially, my mother first decided to stay in Bakhmut. She is 83 years old and is in poor health. She really believed that all this would end soon. My mother’s neighbours supported her for several months: they brought her bread, kefir, and various foods. I am very grateful to them for this! However, every day the situation became more and more difficult, and in June my mother couldn't stand it anymore. The volunteers took her away," Tetiana said.
Adaptation after infernal Bakhmut
Liliia Dudnyk, another resident of Bakhmut, left the city with her daughter at the beginning of April, immediately after the authorities warned that the situation in Donbas would soon heat up. Where to spend the night was a big problem they faced when leaving the city.
Hotel rooms in every city had already been taken. Private apartments were going like hotcakes: several times, Liliia was refused even an apartment that she had already booked, because someone else got there first. The woman stopped in Cherkasy after travelling through several cities. Together with her nine-year-old daughter, they live with friends now.
"Of course, it is difficult for the child. At first, our departure was like an adventure, an interesting trip for her. And then, when it became clear that this is all real, and we may never again return home, it became sad. I know that some windows in our house are broken. But what will happen next is unknown. There were times when we cried every evening. And now we live in ‘standby mode’, waiting for our victory. We try not to think about the bad things, but more about the good," Liliia said.
The woman is a volunteer and actively assists other displaced people. Back in 2014, when the Russians invaded Donetsk Oblast, Liliia Dudnyk and her colleagues had to relocate the Revival and Development Association from Horlivka to Bakhmut. The NGO then moved to Cherkasy and has remained in business there since the full-scale invasion.
"We work with all age groups, from children to the elderly. We organise fairs, psychological therapy events for children where they can paint, sculpt and knit. We organise excursions to museums and various exhibitions for teenagers and adults.
We also conducted an important survey regarding prospects for displaced people. We make recommendations for local self-government bodies based on this research, so that they will understand that displaced people are a resource. In other words, an IDP is not just a burden who ‘comes to your city’ and for whom the host community needs to find housing and provide humanitarian aid. No. People have professions, skills, knowledge, and experience. Each of them can be involved in valuable work," Liliia Dudnyk said.
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Ukrainians who wish to offer housing to displaced people can post an ad to this effect on the Prykhystok website. IDPs can thus find temporary shelter in any part of Ukraine or abroad, for a few days or for a longer period. The filter system will help them easily choose the option that meets their criteria and to quickly contact the homeowner.
This is a completely volunteer initiative. It was launched on the first day of the full-scale invasion by Halyna Yanchenko, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament. Later, the Prykhystok programme received state support. Homeowners who shelter displaced people receive compensation from the state for utility payments, in the amount of 900 hryvnias for one person per month. There are about 16,000 ads on the website now. And the page has been translated into 40 languages.
Victoriia Yaryzhko for Ukrainska Pravda. Zhyttia
Translation by: Artem Yakymyshyn, Tetiana Buchkovska
Editor: Monica Sandor