A new video shot in the town of Bakhmut shows the intensity of the fighting and the humanitarian tragedy faced by residents who chose to stay in what has become a “ghost town” after months of bombing and attacks by the Russians.

Ukrainian military in BakhmutPhoto: Marek M. Berezowski / AFP / Profimedia Images

Armand Soldin, one of AFP’s correspondents in Ukraine, shared several videos and photos taken in the city by French journalists, saying that on Wednesday they tried to get as close as possible to the main bridge in Bakhmut, as the city is under constant shelling.

“Special forces are running down the street. The northern, eastern and southern parts of the city seem like an artillery hell on earth,” he notes.

Bakhmut, a city on the front line in Ukraine

Soldin says that the river that divides the city of Bakhmut in two has become a key fighting front and that people living on the east bank of the river are risking their lives every day to get water, firewood or reach one of the humanitarian centers. that offer hot meals or internet access.

Natalia, a 75-year-old woman, told French journalists that she spends so much time in the basement that she feels like a mole when she comes out, and her eyes have to get used to the light.

“But how could I leave?” she asks rhetorically.

Soldin also shared a video he said was taken after a Russian strike destroyed a Ukrainian military vehicle.

“At the scene, we saw blood-stained snow and a piece of what looked like human flesh next to the broken glass. The bombing does not stop. People don’t flinch,” he notes.

The tragedy of civilians who do not want to leave their homes

The French correspondent also mentions approximately 7,000 local residents, many of them elderly, who have decided to stay in the city despite the fierce battles being fought for it.

“Those who could/wanted to leave left, others seem to have resigned themselves to their fate,” Soldin notes, recalling that before the war the city had about 75,000 inhabitants.

Another elderly woman told French reporters that she had lived in the city since 1956, 66 years old, and would soon be 67 if she survived.

“Only a fool is not afraid,” says Nadia.

“No matter what, I will stay alive, God willing,” she said, dragging bags on wooden pallets in the Soviet-era apartment building where she lives. “This is how we live in the 21st century,” the woman emphasized.

Outside the city, the Ukrainian military continues to consolidate its position, repelling new attacks by Russian troops in the longest and bloodiest battle of the war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24 last year.

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