Tersyanka is one of many frontline villages in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. At the beginning of the year, Russian forces were about nine kilometers from Tersyanka. Now, Ukrainian defenders have managed to push them back to roughly 15 kilometers away.

Those who survived Russia's bombs, missiles and drones have left their home village. Only dogs remain among the living. A road covered with anti-drone nets leads eight kilometers to the rear, to the village of Novomykolaivka. The village even has a church, but the pastor has been hospitalized, so in his absence Maria — the owner of a small funeral home — has been taking care of things there.

"It's rare that people need our services. There's no one to dig and no one to do the work… People need to be buried, but thank God, we haven't had to leave anyone lying on a bench yet," Maria said.

According to Maria, more than 4,000 people lived in Novomykolaivka before the war. Now only a few hundred remain. At the local cemetery, among old graves, there are also graves of fallen soldiers. What will happen to them if the front line shifts again?

"I'm afraid of that question. I don't want to believe they will get here. We hope everything will be all right, that Ukraine will hold out," Maria said.

All frontline villages are similar. Bomb craters in yards, houses that have taken hits, remnants of Soviet monuments and an absence of people. According to Serhii, an officer in a brigade fighting nearby, Russian forces are preparing for a summer offensive.

"The village is called Yellow Slope and Russian glide bombs leveled it in a matter of days. This happened about a month ago, at the end of February. Only a few houses and a handful of residents remain," said Serhii Skibchik, an officer in the 65th Brigade.

Local residents are reluctant to speak to the media, fearing that if Russians see their interviews, they will bomb the village again. Upon reaching the city of Zaporizhzhia, the "Aktuaalne kaamera" crew learned that the city was once again under attack, with dead and wounded reported.

"It was a drone. At around 7 or 8 in the morning, a drone struck a house. A married couple — a man and a woman — were killed. The children are currently in the hospital," said Oleksandr, a volunteer with the Artak charity foundation.

"Two girls were left orphaned… Dima and his wife were killed. They bought their house two or three years ago. Such tragedy," Yuri said.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and X and never miss an update!