Russia-Ukraine standoff: Elderly Ukrainian couple left behind in bombed out eastern village

Elderly couple Kateryna and Dmytro Shklyar are among the last residents of Nevelske, a village near the front lines in east Ukraine where years of fighting have left them without running water, electricity or neighbours.

Nevelske sits some 25 km from Donetsk, the biggest city in the contested eastern Ukrainian region where Russia has backed separatist rebels fighting Ukraine government troops since 2014. The village had around 300 inhabitants 20 years ago, but most have fled. After the latest shelling in November, part of the recent escalation of the conflict between Russia and the West over Ukraine, only five inhabitants remain.

The Shklyars live without running water or a stable power supply, relying on the Ukrainian military and aid workers to deliver basic goods.

Their neighborhood is mostly made up of destroyed houses. The nearest shop is too risky to reach. They have to cross military roadblocks and the largely dormant but still dangerous line separating Ukraine from the territory under rebel control.

"It cannot get any worse," said Kateryna. "He is 86 and I am 76 years old. And we live on nothing. Well, we have of course our own potatoes, carrots and onions. But that's all we have."

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