Report
Ukraine: the city of Dergatchi, almost deserted after the departure of many inhabitants
Audio 01:25
The cultural center of Dergatchi, north of Kharkiv, destroyed by a Russian strike.
© RFI / Sami Boukhelifa
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
In Ukraine, the surroundings of Kharkiv, in the east of the country, are still under fire from Russian artillery, not far from the border.
The city of Dergatchi had more than 40,000 inhabitants before the war and is almost deserted today.
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With our special correspondents in Dergatchi
,
Murielle Paradon
and
Sami Boukhelifa
In Dergatchi, the noise of the bombardments resounds day and night.
The streets are almost deserted, apart from a few hungry dogs and cats.
Three quarters of the population have left.
Larissa came to take some belongings from her house which she left last March.
An explosive device fell right next to his house: “
I was in my garden when it happened, my daughter was at home.
It was so loud as an explosion that for a while I didn't hear anything.
I crouched down and ran home as best I could.
After the explosion, we lost electricity and gas.
My daughter fell ill because it was very cold.
So we decided to leave.
»
The center housing the food aid completely destroyed
Larissa's neighbor, Lida, chose to stay.
Wearing a colorful scarf, she is an 82-year-old lady.
With her son, she survives as best she can: “
When we have electricity, we cook on electric plates, borsch, soup.
If we don't have electricity, we make a fire.
Of course, we are afraid of the bombardments, especially at night.
During the day, there are explosions, but it is further away.
»
During the night, the cultural center of Dergatchi, where food aid is stored for the last inhabitants of the city, was completely destroyed by a bombardment.
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To listen: Ukraine: in Lotskyne, "the Russians arrived and they broke our lives"
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