They live in the midst of rockets and artillery fire, but despite all this, they refuse to leave the village where they have lived all their lives. Many residents of the village of Rai Oleksandrivka, which is in the immediate vicinity of the city of Slovensk, Donetsk region, remained in their houses, located only three to four kilometers from the front line, reports the special representative of Agerpres.

The city is now full of soldiers and surrounded by trenches, which are there to repel the attacks of the Russian army.

Every few seconds there is artillery fire or the noise of rocket launches. For the villagers, they have become a way of life.

During the day, they are only in the yard, where they do small farming. Potatoes grown in the garden, home-canned fruits and vegetables, and a few birds and a pig provide them without a problem.

“We can live even in such conditions. God grant that there will be peace! There are still people in the village, not everyone has left. My wife is next to me. We are slowly overcoming it. We take care of the house and garden. This is how we survive. The most important thing is not to bomb us. We don’t need anything else. There were several bombings. A drone fell into our yard, right into the door. Miraculously, my wife survived. Why do I have to leave here? I evacuated my children because I was afraid for my grandson and daughter. We are used to rockets,” said Anatoliy, a 69-year-old man who is determined not to leave his house on Saturday.

Moreover, the Ukrainian says that when alarms are raised or attacks intensify, he stays at home instead of hiding in basements. He is afraid that the cellar may be bombed and he may be buried alive.

“We don’t hide in basements. Cellar for potatoes, for canned goods. If we hide in it and a rocket falls, we will be buried alive,” added Anatoliy.

– Where will we go?

Olga is 68 years old, she refuses to leave. He knows that not only his village is under attack. He says that he hears on the radio every day that other cities of Ukraine are also targets of attacks by the Russian army, so there is no point in running away.

“We live like others. Sometimes we even cry. We hope we will survive and soon peace will come. God does what He wills! Where should we go? We turn on the radio and hear that rocket fire is everywhere. And they hit here, and they hit there,” Olga, whose children are in Poland, admits with tears in her eyes.

Around the village of Rai Oleksandrivka, all agricultural land remained uncultivated. A grain silo at the entrance was partially destroyed after a rocket landed in the area, leaving a very large crater.

Before February 24, 2022, the life of the village changed fundamentally. Only faith and hope are stronger than before.