Refugees yearn for the champagne-filled cellars of Bakhmut and play war games on cellphones

(Dnipro. Special Envoys) Alina has lost her friends. Nothing has happened to them, they no longer speak to him. She went with her family to Dnipro and they went to other cities, or even left the country. It is one more in the multiplication of side tragedies, a life that has changed forever without the need for death, but which looks alike. “If they liked me, they would have written to me already. But we don’t talk, I don’t have contact with any of them”, he says. She has, yes, a boyfriend. He is with her in Dnipro and has found a job, so he does not pass the day at the shelter, but it is the one with whom he talks about his feelings the most. Alina is 18 years old and responds almost like an automaton, taken with a seriousness that conveys an infinite sadness. Her mother’s name is Irina and she is by his side, he watches her speak and we can see that her daughter’s condition is hurting.

Irina says:Bakhmut this is really the hottest spot today”. It’s not that I saw the news or have information from the army: Irina is from Bakhmut and had to leave with her family when the most violent phase of the attempt to take the city by the Russians began.

“When we were evacuated two months ago, there was a lot of shelling, there were shootings, explosions. It was horrible and we were very scared. We left in one of the cars of the volunteers who were helping to get people out of there,” he says. Next to her were her husband and daughter Alina.

Alina says she misses her home in her city, but especially her grandmother. She’s still there because she works as a nurse and is assigned to one of the hospitals in town, and she didn’t want to leave. “They told her she could leave, but if she did she would lose her job because we need a lot of nurses there now, so she decided to stay. But we are very distressed because we we also have no contact, there is no connection there so we have not heard from for several days. We are waiting for someone to go there to find out how he is, ”says -he.

According to data from UNHCRthere United Nations Refugee Agencynext to 14 million people they left their homes in Ukraine. This number represents a third of the total population of the country. Also, nearly 6 million people had to leave not only their homes but also their cities. He 87% of them are women or children.

Many others have decided to leave the country. Since the start of the war, 9.3 million people moved from Ukraine to Poland. Throughout the year, many have also returned, but in European countries there are at least 8 million Ukrainian refugees.

Dnipro It is one of the cities that hosts the most internally displaced people because it is close to almost all the battlefronts: Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Bakhmut, Vuhledar.

Vadim is one of the many citizens who, when the war broke out, decided to help in some way. He had just rented a place to set up a business, but February 24 he decided to make it a shelter. He renovated it and since August he has received compatriots from all over the world.

“Dnipro is now a much more depressed city than it was before. We are very close to the battle line, there is a tension that rises and falls all the time. However, we try to support each other. There is a union of shelters. There is 27 shelters in the city, and we all help each other. I want to help everyone I can. This is the only way to get ahead of this situation,” he says.

Today there are 23 people and they have room for 39. If more is needed, they can even add beds to the first floor, where there is a computer for common use, the bathrooms and a few additional parts.

Downstairs in the main room there are about 15 beds. They were built by Vadim himself with help from friends. In one of the corners of this environment there are books and board games. One of the boys in the shelter has a cell phone in his hand and is playing Call of Duty, a war game. Her mother’s name is Tatyana and she has been at the shelter for several months. “The situation in Bakhmut was horrible when we decided to leave. There were constant bombardments, everyone lived in underground shelters. You couldn’t be there,” she said, petting one of her two cats.

First, she evacuated with her two children, aged 14 and 7, and her two cats, whom they had no intention of leaving behind. A few weeks later, her husband also came out. Today, they don’t know if their house is still standing or was destroyed by a bombardment. There are hardly any of his neighbors left in his block, and those who are cannot communicate.

Her eldest son, Stepan, says his friends are all over Ukraine, but none in Dnipro. There are two who remained in Bakhmut, or who were there until recently. He doesn’t know anything about them today. Her younger brother, Illya, says he was scared when they were in Bakhmut but didn’t understand what was going on.

“Unfortunately, they saw it all with their own eyes, so there wasn’t much more information to give them. They experienced it themselves, unfortunately. And on the other hand, they have their phones and there is a lot of information online, so they read everything”, says his mother, who assures that they will return to town when he is fully recovered and there is will have “a huge party” there.

Bakhmut, we will be told later, is – was – a city famous in Ukraine for its champagne production. “All cellars are full of sparkling wine,” says Nalyshna. She is a 69-year-old woman who arrived alone at the shelter and dreams of returning. Her way of dreaming now is with tears in her eyes.

– When did you leave Bakhmut?

-In September. Everything there was horrible. The building was on fire, people were falling. From my bed, I could hear the sound of incoming missiles. And everything was on fire, but I still want to go back. My house. We will rebuild it brick by brick. I don’t know how this is all going to end, we are waiting. What the Russians have done to our country… They say the Russians are against us, that we are their enemies, but some of them are on our side.

Nalyshna pauses to collect herself and says she is still confident. that they will come back to you, to your home. And thank you for the interview and said nice things. You seem to be one of those people who always prefer to think of beautiful things, but find it difficult to find them. She sits at home and says, “Bakhmut, Bakhmut.” Smile. “I’m sure there are no more bottles of champagne left in the cellars,” she says, a little wistfully, and raises her arms as if it doesn’t bother her that much. “We will do more,” he said. “We will do more.”

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Those wishing to help Vadim’s shelter can do so on the following accounts, or contact him via instagram at @fond_opekun.

Dollar account

UC653054820000026003302134622 (USD)

SWIFT CODE: COSBUAUKDNI

PJSC Oschadbank

euro account

UA703054820000026038300134622 (EUR)

SWIFT CODE: COSBUAUKDNI

PJSC Oschadbank

EDRPOU: 38724628

Payment recipient: “TUTOR” CHARITY FUND CHARITY ORGANIZATION

Bank: Branch of DNIPROPETROVSKE OR JSC “OSCHADBANK”

MFO Bank: 305482

Purpose of payment: Charitable aid

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Photos and video: Franco Fafasuli

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