Ukrainians hide in bunkers as fighting rages in east

By Davit Kachkachishvili

BAKHMUT, Ukraine (AA) - As fighting with Russia rages in Ukraine's east, residents in the city of Bakhmut are forced to take refuge in bunkers.

At home, there is no electricity, water and gas. Outside, armored vehicles and ambulances ply the streets. Loud explosions are heard across the city.

Volunteers serve food, medicine, and drinking water to the people, mostly the elderly, amid the sound of gunfire.

A few daring civilians step out to get wood to light a fire to cook food.

Valeriy Ivanov, 54, who is hiding in the basement of his apartment along with his neighbors, told Anadolu Agency they are waiting for the explosions to stop.

The clashes have considerably intensified recently, he said.

We stayed in the basement from the beginning of the war in February to the summer months, he added.

They moved back to their houses after the situation calmed down a bit.

"(But) the new stage of the war has begun. It is worse for civilians," he said.

In the absence of running water, the people in the basement use water from the pipes of the building's heating system to wash dishes and do the laundry.

He said anyone and everyone who could leave the city has left. Only the sick, elderly and poor have been left behind, he added.

Olga, 51, is cooking food on a bonfire outside her house.

She told Anadolu Agency that she is the only caregiver for her elderly mother and disabled sister.

"There is constant shelling. When the shelling begins, the house trembles. The situation is terrible! We try to hide, but don't know where to go," said Olga’s 85-year-old mother Maria.

Russia launched its war in Ukraine on Feb. 24.

More than 6,300 civilians have since been killed and over 9,700 injured, according to UN estimates which fears the actual figures could be higher.