Residents of the Ukrainian village of Hrabske tore scrap metal from
left over tanks and started to rebuild their homes on Sunday after
Ukrainian government forces were evacuated from the nearby town of
Ilovaysk area, following weeks of heavy shelling between Kiev's troops
and pro-Russia separatists.
There is barely a street in the village and the nearby town of Ilovaysk left unscarred by artillery strikes.
The bitter fight for Ilovaysk and surrounding areas lasted the best part of a month.
On Saturday, the government conceded its inevitable defeat as its armed forces were surrounded and under relentless attack.
With homes destroyed and livelihoods lost, residents are forced to scrabble for a living and scrap metal is in no short supply.
In Hrabske, Alexander Bezpalko and his son worked to salvage parts from a burned-out Ukrainian tank.
"We gradually made a life for ourselves through honest work and look what has happened now. How do we keep on living?" he told AP Television.
"My house is destroyed. And I have to rebuild it somehow. And this junk is scrap metal which I can use to make money. What to do? Everything is wrecked and there is no work," said Galina, a Hrabske resident.
Ilovaysk, a city south east of Donetsk, was surrounded by separatists on all sides over several days. Government troops sustained fire so intense that they were compelled to plead for a corridor out.
Even with the fighting over for now, homes in Ilovaysk remain without electricity and water and residents are angry at the destruction of their homes and workplaces.
There is barely a street in the village and the nearby town of Ilovaysk left unscarred by artillery strikes.
The bitter fight for Ilovaysk and surrounding areas lasted the best part of a month.
On Saturday, the government conceded its inevitable defeat as its armed forces were surrounded and under relentless attack.
With homes destroyed and livelihoods lost, residents are forced to scrabble for a living and scrap metal is in no short supply.
In Hrabske, Alexander Bezpalko and his son worked to salvage parts from a burned-out Ukrainian tank.
"We gradually made a life for ourselves through honest work and look what has happened now. How do we keep on living?" he told AP Television.
"My house is destroyed. And I have to rebuild it somehow. And this junk is scrap metal which I can use to make money. What to do? Everything is wrecked and there is no work," said Galina, a Hrabske resident.
Ilovaysk, a city south east of Donetsk, was surrounded by separatists on all sides over several days. Government troops sustained fire so intense that they were compelled to plead for a corridor out.
Even with the fighting over for now, homes in Ilovaysk remain without electricity and water and residents are angry at the destruction of their homes and workplaces.
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