Residents of Bakhmut, a town in eastern Ukraine, are visiting a support centre in Kyiv for medical care and free clothing after fleeing their destroyed town. Russia’s Wagner mercenaries claim to have captured Bakhmut, but Ukraine insists it is still fighting for control. Olga, a displaced resident, wept as she described arriving in Kyiv with her husband and two children after fleeing Bakhmut. She showed harrowing images of the destroyed town on her mobile phone and said: “Ending up homeless when you have an address”.
Vera Biryukova, a retired teacher, showed pictures of her burnt-out building and said there was nowhere to go back to. She left Bakhmut after months sleeping in the cellar, taking only a few clothes and leaving behind her family photos. Iryna Tkachenko, who worked as a shop assistant for 38 years, is optimistic about Bakhmut’s future, believing that Ukrainians will seize it back from the Russians.
The centre for Bakhmut displaced is bustling and decorated with children’s drawings. Its head, Lyudmyla Bondareva, says more than 6,500 people from the city are living in Kyiv and its surrounding region. Visitors say making ends meet is a struggle due to high rents in Kyiv and a lack of food parcels from donor organisations.
