Druzhkivka-based journalist Oleksandr Kachura had to leave his home due to constant Russian strikes in the city, he reported to Yulia Harkusha, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Donetsk oblast.
Kachura said that he had left the city a few days prior because living conditions there had become unbearable. On top of the perpetual shelling, Druzhkivka has no water, gas, electricity, or stable connectivity.
He said that they had to get water from spots where it was still available and carry it home manually, often under the threat of drone strikes. There is no power in the city, only invincibility hubs equipped with generators, but to refuel the generators, you need to transport the fuel, and traveling by car has become extremely dangerous, so people have to move around on foot or by bicycle. Since the gas supply was disabled, cooking food has become almost impossible, requiring a tourist stove or a primus stove.
“Life in such field conditions becomes unbearable. You need rest after work, and for me, as a journalist and producer, working there has become absolutely unrealistic,” said Oleksandr.
The journalist concluded that life in the city was “like the Stone Age.” He took some of his belongings and moved to Kramatorsk.
Kachura said that there would be no centralized heating in winter, so he would have to install a potbelly, collect firewood, and heat water himself.
“I took the necessities with me, although many things were left behind. The situation in Kramatorsk is difficult as well: the guided bomb strikes are difficult, and drones, and there have been a lot of FPVs flying over the city. But at least there is electricity, water, gas, and the Internet here. Druzhkivka already is the de-facto front line, like Kostyantynivka. That is why I decided to leave. It is very unfortunate, because a lot of things in the apartment were made by me. However, I am staying in Donetsk oblast, in the Ukrainian territory of the Donbas. Only occupation can make me leave this place,” Oleksandr Kachura stressed.
The journalist reported in a Facebook post that Russia had once again targeted the city’s infrastructure on 11 June, targeting the resort complex MAN this time. Regional, national, and international journalists, photographers, and filming crews often stayed at this hotel. The hotel and the surrounding premises were significantly damaged by fire.
Oleksandr Kachura had worked in Donetsk until 2014, and has lived in Druzhkivka since 2015. Having been displaced twice over, Oleksandr Kachura is a regional freelance journalist and works with two foreign media outlets: the Estonian newspaper Postimees and the Hungarian TV channel ATV.