War-weary people complain of homes lost in eastern Ukraine bullets | Critical Issues of Ukraine-Russia

Nevelske, Ukraine Surrounded by barley fields and buried under snow, the village of Nevelske in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine has been abandoned – devastated amid growing Ukraine-Russia crisis that has taken Europe to the end of the conflict.

It is located 24 km (15 miles) northwest of the diverse city of Donetskresidents of the agricultural community faced a crisis for more than seven years as a result of tensions between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists, until a deadly explosion in November forced many of the remaining people to flee.

Before the war in 2014, about 300 people lived in Nevelske, according to the UN Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) office. The population had dropped to 45 at the time of the November threats – now only a handful.

The shootings took place amid tensions between Russia and Western Ukraine, as Moscow mobilized tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of weapons near the Ukrainian border.

‘Everything was lost’

Prior to the uprising, Nevelske was a modern village, with bathrooms and indoor toilets – the highest point in the impoverished, rural area.

The residents had worked hard to grow the village by hand and were able to plant enough leaves in nearby fields to become self-sufficient, an important factor for the elderly who could not work.

Valentina Omelnycka’s house, with a blue picket fence and a beautiful garden where flowers and grapes are grown in the summer, had a pen in her yard.

The 63-year-old put “great love” in his home, he said.

The first attack took place on November 14, with her 24-year-old husband, Andriy Dmytryuchenko, 45, hoping it was just a coincidence and decided to stay at home.

But early on November 18, Dmytryuchenko remembers seeing a light in the sky through a window and inviting Omelnycka and their adopted son, Olha Snehovska, 36, to live in a basement.

“Everything was shaking, and when we got out everything was gone and we didn’t sleep all night,” said Dmytryuchenko.

Dmytryuchenko, 45, shows a small piece of paper from the garden of his old Nevelske [Emre Caylak/Al Jazeera]

“We looked in the yard and saw that the barn was gone, the ducks were dead and the pig, one full of pieces, was dead …

The pigsty had been broken into, a bullet had exploded in the clothing and 12 children were killed.

As is the case with other villages in the Ukrainian military territory Joint Force’s Operation calls the “red zone”, the sound of gunfire and explosions is part of everyday life in Nevelske.

The war has continued ever since the war began Russia seized and occupied The southern Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine is supporting the separatists who have seized large areas of the eastern part of the country.

The two sides came to a standstill in 2015, but violence continues and at least 14,000 people are killed, including more than 3,000 civilians.

Tensions between Russia and the West erupted again in October, when Ukraine attacked a Russian-led separatist group with aircraft carrier and the appearance of satellite images that appeared to indicate Russia’s actions. gathered thousands of troops near its border with Ukraine.

Western leaders have been rush to solve the problemwhich some have warned could lead Ukraine into the Ukrainian territory, arriving in Russia, in an attempt to encourage each other by promising severe punishment in the event of an attack.

‘He Directed Us

Omelnycka and Dmytryuchenko, both with golden smiles and calm blue eyes, said that during the war, mines and other weapons hit fields and gardens, but usually houses in the village.

“After a fierce battle here in 2014, people returned a month later, but this time I do not think they will. “Then the explosion happened randomly, but this time I feel like they want to hit people’s homes,” said Omelnycka.

“They know that ordinary people live here, we should not follow them. But it was directed toward us. ”

Of the 50 houses in the village, 16 were beaten and 11 were damaged. A military doctor who was sent to the village was seriously injured, but later recovered in the hospital. Several farm animals were killed.

Valentina Omelnycka, 63, and Andriy Dmytryuchenko, 45, are in a nursing home near Pisky, Ukraine. [Emre Caylak/Al Jazeera]

Many Nevelske homes are still inhabited, including Omelnycka and Dmytryuchenko, but the attack left the village without gas and electricity, and without water due to the use of electric water pumps.

There is no grocery store, which is about ten minutes away. The villagers are afraid to invest in repairing their expensive homes as they believe the village may return.

Residents are said to have received less money from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Czech charity People in Need.

The growing anxiety about escalating violence has raised fears that poverty is on the rise across the region.

Amnesty International warned Friday that further protests in Ukraine would occur destructive effects about the human rights of millions of people and could lead to refugee problems. About 1.45 million people have fled their homes, according to government figures.

Calendar showing the month of November, when the final destruction took place, inside the abandoned house, Nevelske [Emre Caylak/Al Jazeera]

Dmytryuchenko and Omelnycka now live temporarily in their sister’s home in a nearby village. Soon they will have to find a way to solve the problem, but they do not know how to pay the rent.

They say that when a village is devastated, nearby trees go up because of the large number of people fleeing. According to Dmytryuchenko, housing prices in the region have skyrocketed in recent years.

“We are talking to friends in other cities like Nipro – their children took them – and I call them and talk about their move. We are always crying because they want to come back and we want to stay here,” he said.

“I just want peace and other things we can do on our own. Maybe then even those who left in 2014 will be back.”