Ukrainian couple take shelter in basement in frontline town

Record ID: 1701225

  • Title: Ukrainian couple take shelter in basement in frontline town
  • Date: 7th December 2022
  • Summary: SIVERSK, DONETSK REGION, UKRAINE (DECEMBER 4, 2022) (REUTERS) AX IN LOG, EXPLOSION HEARD IN BACKGROUND SMOKE COMING OUT OF CHIMNEY MAN CUTTING WOOD, EXPLOSION HEARD IN BACKGROUND VARIOUS OF OLEKSII, LOCAL RESIDENT, CHOPPING WOOD PERSON ENTERING BASEMENT (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) 68-YEAR-OLD, LOCAL RESIDENT, ZOIA (NO LAST NAME GIVEN), SAYING: “Sometimes it is even worse. Sometimes it is so scary, the whole house is shaking!” OLEKSII POKING WOOD IN STOVE ZOIA EATING (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) 42-YEAR-OLD, LOCAL RESIDENT, OLEKSII (NO LAST NAME GIVEN), SAYING TO CAT BY STOVE: “You’re already burning, move away a little!” VARIOUS OF OLEKSII POKING WOOD IN STOVE THERMOMETER OLEKSII AND HELEN, LOCAL RESIDENT, LAUGHING (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) 68-YEAR-OLD, LOCAL RESIDENT, ZOIA (NO LAST NAME GIVEN), SAYING: REPORTER ASKING (Russian) ‘Why are you staying here?’ “Because there is nowhere to go. It is either we will be wandering someone else’s basements, or our own basement. It is all the same. But we don’t have any money to go anywhere.” STOVE (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) 68-YEAR-OLD, LOCAL RESIDENT, ZOIA (NO LAST NAME GIVEN), SAYING “There is nowhere to go. What would I take with me? A damaged coat? And what about other things? You wouldn’t go naked there. You would have to eat there, to pay for everything.” OLEKSII WALKING DOWN CORRIDOR BED BELONGINGS ON CHAIR, OLEKSII SAYING OFF-CAMERA (Russian) ‘There are no other options. There is no electricity here.’ (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) 42-YEAR-OLD, LOCAL RESIDENT, OLEKSII (NO LAST NAME GIVEN), SAYING: “Since May there has been practically nothing: no electricity, no water, no gas. Nothing.” BED CORRIDOR CLOTHES HANGING SMOKE COMING OUT CHIMNEY FIREWOOD, EXPLOSION HEARD IN BACKGROUND SOLAR LAMPS STUCK IN FENCE DAMAGED APARTMENT BLOCK WIND HOWLING THROUGH DAMAGED WALL VARIOUS OF DAMAGED APARTMENT BLOCK, EXPLOSIONS HEARD IN BACKGROUND
  • Embargoed: 21st December 2022 10:37
  • Keywords: Russian invasion War in Ukraine Winter preparations
  • Location: SIVERSK, DONETSK REGION, UKRAINE
  • City: SIVERSK, DONETSK REGION, UKRAINE
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe,Military Conflicts,Editors' Choice
  • Reuters ID: LVA001445005122022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Helen, Oleksii, and Zoia, residents of the eastern Ukrainian town of Siversk spent the last seven months living in the basement of their apartment block sheltering from Russian shelling.
    Russian forces have pounded the the town relentlessly with missiles and rockets razing parts of it to the ground. Some of the flats in the apartment block were damaged and are not suitable for living.
    Asked why they haven't left, a 68-year-old Zoia said with no money their options were limited.
    “It is either we will be wandering someone else’s basements, or our own basement. It is all the same. But we don’t have any money to go anywhere.”
    Despite harsh conditions, they have not lost heart and make the most of their dire circumstances. They chop wood and cook on a wood burner which is also the main source of heat.
    “You’re already burning, move away a little!”!”Zoia’s son Oleksii tells his pet cat encouraging it to move further away from the hot wood burner.
    The residents said there has been no electricity, water or gas since May.
    Only a few of more than 10,000 residents of Seversk remain after nine months of fighting during which Russian forces repeatedly attempted to take control of the frontline town.
    The sounds of artillery guns resound in the streets of town, some 10 kilometers (six miles) from the frontline.
    (Production: Vladyslav Smilianets, Andrii Pryimachenko)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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