INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
As the temperatures plunge in eastern Ukraine, Sergiy Khmil says he has little choice but to use the stacks of ammunition boxes left by the
retreating Russian forces as firewood this winter.Without the wood, Khmil says he will probably freeze amid the ruins of his destroyed
"There's a huge queue to get the donated wood from volunteers."With his home largely destroyed by shelling, Khmil is still hard at work
Russian shell casings."I need to cover the walls with another layer of insulation," Khmil adds while scanning the modest room that he hopes
will see him through the winter.In March, the village was shelled and strafed by helicopters before infantry and tanks stormed the area as
commandeering buildings, looting homes, stealing booze, and driving drunk, according to residents."They started to break into garages and
houses and partying drunk overnight," says resident Volodymyr Tsybulya, 53, during a break from repairing the roof of his sister's
I came to my place and found my bathroom destroyed by a grenade."And on it went for months, until a lightning offensive by Ukrainian forces
army's wake, a trail of destroyed villages was left in ruin, including Kamyanka on the outskirts of Izyum in Ukraine's Kharkiv region.in the
weeks since retaking control of the area, Ukrainian officials have scrambled to pick up the pieces, while uncovering mass graves and taking
and a labor shortage have made the much-needed repairs unlikely as the cold sets in
carefully," he adds.He points to the increase in power cuts following waves of Russian attacks on infrastructure sites across Ukraine that
It's such vile behavior," the 65-year-old resident says through tears as she describes the destruction of her home and the looting of her
This is our sixth place [during the war]
