- Published
The dangers in Slovyansk are clear from the start.
asserted
dangers → publish → start
"If I say run, you run," Tetiana tells us.
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Tetiana → say → us
She and her colleague Yasha are escorting us into a city now under constant bombardment from Russian drones, missiles and glide bombs.
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She → escort → drones
It is raining and cloudy as we enter the city, and our military escorts call this "good" weather, meaning it is bad for drones.
asserted
it → rain → drones
But the threat is still there, and Yasha keeps his eyes peeled on the skies, while 21-year-old Tetiana scours her phone for the latest military intelligence on likely threats from the air.
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Tetiana → keep → air
They are members of a drone unit who call themselves Peaky Blinders and their distinctive emblem is a flat cap of the type made popular by the cult BBC TV series, although theirs are camouflaged.
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theirs → call → series
Slovyansk is one of four cities that make up Ukraine's "fortress belt" - a system of heavily reinforced defence lines in the parts of eastern region of Donetsk still under its control.
asserted
that → make → control
Russia wants Kyiv to give up the fortress cities and they are central to talks on a possible peace deal that have resumed after nine months between Ukraine, Russia and the US in Abu Dhabi.
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that → want → Dhabi
Ukrainians worry that doing so would make it much easier for Russia to advance further west, including to the capital Kyiv.
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Russia → worry → capital
Once inside the city, we leave our vehicles hidden under the cover of trees and venture out on foot.
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we → leave → foot
Yasha carries a shotgun – a last resort to shoot down Russian drones.
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Yasha → carry → drones
In halting English, Tetiana tells us walking is safer than travelling by car.
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walking → tell → car
Abandoned vehicles litter the streets – recently destroyed by remotely operated Russian first-person view drones.
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vehicles → abandon → drones
The anti-drone netting that covers the roads is no guarantee of safety.
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that → cover → safety
Tetiana shows us a video on her phone taken a few days earlier.
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Tetiana → show → phone
You can hear several drones buzzing above her, and then the cacophony of small arms fire as Ukrainian forces try to shoot them down.
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forces → hear → them
Tetiana admits it can be scary but explains how she felt compelled to help her country, abandoning her dreams of becoming an opera singer.
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she → admit → singer
Very few buildings have been left unscathed, with many reduced to rubble.
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many → leave → rubble
Tetiana shows us a school recently destroyed by Russian glide bombs.
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Tetiana → show → bombs
Broken glass litters the pavement.
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glass → litter → pavement
The few shops still functioning are boarded up – making it hard to distinguish what is still open.
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what → function → ?
Most have closed.
asserted
Most → close → ?
Tetiana says the Russians are doing everything they can to intimidate people and drive them out of the city.
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they → say → city
That, she says, "is their strategy – to make people leave in chaos, gathering up their last belongings and fleeing amid enormous fear and suffering.
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people → say → fear
They want people to have nowhere left to live".
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people → want → nowhere
It is a familiar pattern already seen in other Ukrainian towns and cities in the Donbas – like Pokrovsk and Bakhmut.
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It → see → Pokrovsk
These are now ghost towns reduced to rubble, but eventually falling into Russian hands.
asserted
These → reduce → hands
Russia has already taken nearly 90% of the Donbas – made up of the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk - but its advances this year have all but stalled in the face of strong Ukrainian resistance.
The White House is sounding positive about the revived talks in Abu Dhabi, despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's refusal to cede the territory.
October was the deadliest month for Russian troops since the start of its full-scale invasion – with more than 54,000 killed or injured, according to Ukraine's general staff.
uncertain
54,000 → take → staff
Despite this, Russian forces are still making life in the Fortress Belt cities almost impossible.
asserted
life → make → cities
Less than 10% of those remain and the population diminishes by the day.
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population → remain → day
But amid the wail of near constant air raid warnings, there are still signs of people clinging on to life here.
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people → be → life
Iryna works in one of the city's last remaining coffee shops.
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Iryna → work → shops
Slovyansk is where she was born.
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she → bear → ?
"I'm forced to walk around crying," she tells me.
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she → force → me
"How can they do this?"
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they → do → this
Life, she says, has become incredibly difficult.
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she → say → ?
She has already lost her house.
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She → lose → house
But despite her tears, there is still defiance: "I won't leave Slovyansk.
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I → be → Slovyansk
Inga, 53, was also born and raised here and continues to work in the city despite the danger.
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Inga → bear → danger
Honestly, I don't even know what to say," she says, but she is staying because of what she calls the "fear of the unknown".
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she → know → unknown
…and 27 more, not listed.
The Aporia
