Fuel trucks travel with machine gunners as escorts." How residents of the occupied territories of Ukraine are enduring a new phase of the war

"Fuel trucks travel with machine gunners as escorts." How residents of the occupied territories of Ukraine are enduring a new phase of the war

Kirill, a resident of Yasynuvata, has had a drone hit his roof for the second time in the past month. Volunteers put new slate roofing on it in June. In early July, another drone pierced it and remained in the attic. The man has no idea when people will next come to help him.

“It’s impossible even to buy coal. Last winter, volunteers brought it to us. We have no firewood, nothing at all. If it weren’t for the volunteers, survival would be impossible,” says Anzhelika Viktorovna from Avdiivka, who nearly lost her husband in a mine explosion.

Because of the fuel crisis and the increased frequency of UAV attacks, humanitarian missions in the occupied territories have become many times more difficult. Roads that were once calm have turned deadly dangerous.

“I advise everyone not to travel unless it’s absolutely necessary. I know many people have had their cars hit too... but I have no understanding of what to do. The only thing I can say is that without a Bulat [UAV detector] and without armor, it’s not even worth trying,” says volunteer Roman.

Thousands of elderly people, low-income people, and people with disabilities remain in the combat zone and still need help. They cannot leave, and do not want to.

“It’s hard for us elderly people to change anything. It’s difficult even to adapt to good conditions. We decided that since we lived and worked here our whole lives, we will go on living here,” says Anzhelika Viktorovna from Avdiivka.

Read about how local residents are surviving amid the escalation, and how volunteers are still trying to help them, in Vyorstka’s report from the “DNR” (with VPN):

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Vyorstka

“We’re waiting for everyone with full canisters”: how the fuel crisis and intensified shelling are returning residents of the “DNR” to 2014

Getting around on the old roads has become more dangerous, and it is now harder for volunteers to reach those in need