Two years on: People in war-torn Ukraine still living on the edge

No firefighters or medical services, no food and water

“From the basement, we could see smoke billowing from burning houses,” Olga says. “One day, I witnessed a fire from a house rapidly spreading to neighboring homes because of strong winds. People were tying to douse the fire with sand, but the old houses continued to catch fire in no time.”

The houses kept burning for 10 days. Sadly, there was not a single firefighter left in the village.

“Here, we don’t have any medical personnel either,” Olga says. “If we are injured, we are likely to die. The thought that injury could be fatal weighed heavily on my mind. One day I went outside to charge my phone. I really wanted to call my children. In an instant, one of my neigbor’s houses was directly hit. Shrapnel was flying in all directions. I dropped to the floor and saved myself. I was lucky to be alive!”

Aside from constantly dodging life-threatening situations, Olga and other villagers faced enormous difficulties managing food for themselves since going outside always posed significant risks. “We heard corpses were lying on the major roadways for indefinite period,” Olga says. “No one had the courage to go there and retrieve the bodies. So, we had to find other ways to move.”

The neighborhood devised innovative ways to communicate the safest routes at any given time. When someone managed to establish phone connection, they spread the word. “We used the information we had to move from one house to another through the backyards in search of food,” Olga adds.

Clean drinking water was another challenge since indiscriminate shelling led to extensive damage to the water infrastructure. However, some neighbors had their water wells still functioning and they helped others.

Mine everywhere: One step away from death

Alongside traditional landmines, Sviatohirsk is also infested with antipersonnel  mines, contravening international humanitarian laws.

Antipersonnel mines — commonly known as “petal” or “butterfly” mines — are small enough to blend seamlessly with the surroundings. “They are lethal and deadly since they resemble ordinary debris, and can explode any time,” Olga explains. “These mines have been planted everywhere: on tree branches, in our gardens and in places where people may work or take a walk. They pose a grave threat.”

Thankfully, Olga’s house and yard have recently been declared free of mines, allowing her to move around freely. “I also asked for a safer route from my house to one of my neighbor’s place where an abandoned dog is staying. I wanted to feed him,” Olga says.

De-miners check and ensure that people follow a certain route and not stray one step left or right from that.

“We usually take the asphalt roads for safety,” Olga says.

CARE in Ukraine and other neighboring countries

CARE and its partners are responding in Ukraine and regionally across Poland, Romania and Moldova to address the humanitarian needs of Ukranian people including food, shelter, non-food items e.g. mattreses, and blankets, hygiene items, health and psychosocial support and protection; with a particular focus on women, girls and the elderly.  CARE initiated its operations in Ukraine in March 2022.

Over the past two years, CARE’s programs have reached over 1.2 million individuals in Ukraine.

Olga is one of them. Her living room ceiling bore cracks and a window suffered damages due to shrapnel. Olga’s house and many others have already been repaired with over 300 more set to receive support.

“We deeply appreciate CARE’s support,” Olga says.