In Siversk, Donetsk Oblast, almost everywhere there are destroyed houses, deep craters, and constant cannonades. You cannot find a building without damage here. Only a hospital and a few shops are open in this town.

The empty streets are usually used by the military, January 2023 (Oleksandr Babenko for Gwara Media)

People here have been without gas, electricity, or even water for 10 months. They live in basements because it is the only place they can heat.

A house in which Siversk residents are hiding in the basement, January 2023 (Oleksandr Babenko for Gwara Media)

The locals live almost without food, without amenities in their homes, and are actually on the verge of survival. In winter, it is especially difficult here: while broken windows can be repaired, the holes caused by Russian artillery shelling cannot.

Some locals move through the streets of Siversk, January 2023 (Oleksandr Babenko for Gwara Media)
The dead are buried right in the yards next to the houses, January 2023 (Oleksandr Babenko for Gwara Media)
The dead are buried right in the yards next to the houses, January 2023 (Oleksandr Babenko for Gwara Media)
The dead are buried right in the yards next to the houses, January 2023 (Oleksandr Babenko for Gwara Media)

Now there are about a hundred people left in the town of about 12,000 inhabitants. The dead are buried right in the yards of their homes because it is deadly to move far from the shelters. There are almost no people on the streets.

Locals live in basements as it is the only place that can be heated. It is also an opportunity to survive the shelling, January 2023 (Oleksandr Babenko for Gwara Media)

“Why do we have to burn the trees we grew? People here need to destroy the trees because they are the only firewood available,” says Halyna, an elderly woman with tears in her eyes.

Locals live in basements as it is the only place that can be heated. It is also an opportunity to survive the shelling, January 2023 (Oleksandr Babenko for Gwara Media)
A local household in Siversk, Donetsk Oblast, January 2023 (Oleksandr Babenko for Gwara Media)
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