REPORTAGE

Ukraine: civilians still in the city of Bakhmout live thanks to humanitarian aid

Audio 01:16

Residents of Bakhmout receive humanitarian aid at a center on January 6, 2023. © Dimitar Dilkoff / AFO

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

Not a minute goes by without the artillery thundering in Bakhmout.

In Donbass, in eastern Ukraine, this city is still at the heart of the fiercest battle between pro-Russians and Ukrainians.

Civilians trapped in this fighting depend almost entirely on humanitarian aid to survive.

The tours of associations are essential to this bruised city.

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With our special correspondents in Bakhmout,

Aabla Jounaïdi

and

Boris Vichith

In

Bakhmout under the bombs

, Yaroslav rushes to the floor: “ 

In this small district, there are only individual houses.

Rockets keep flying here.

In both ways.

See that big hole in the building

?

It's a missile that fell without exploding.

 » 

With the NGO Angels of Salvation aboard his red minibus, Yaroslav helped evacuate thousands of civilians from the front line, while delivering food and medical aid.

A city turned into hell

In Bakhmout, only the most vulnerable remain: the oldest, the infirm, the poor... Olga, a resident, is in charge of centralizing and distributing the water packs to those who cannot move: " 

Here, 70

% of people are retired.

What else could they do

?

Paying rent, all that... Pensions are low;

2,500

hryvnias is nothing

!

At least for the water, the volunteers are there

!

 »

These NGOs are the thread that connects the inhabitants of Bakhmout to life.

Even today, the Yaroslav bus will not leave empty: it will take around ten inhabitants who have resigned themselves to leaving this hell that Bakhmout has become.

To read also: Kiev denies the human damage allegedly caused by Russian missile strikes in Kramatorsk

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  • Ukraine

  • Humanitarian

  • NGO