KOSTYANTYNIVKA, Ukraine — Ukrainians in the city of Kostyantynivka, near the eastern front line in Russia’s war on Ukraine, are in constant danger.
Russian forces in the Donetsk region are trying to advance from several directions, probing for weak spots in defenses; the Kremlin wants to cut off Ukrainian forces’ access to supply routes, which make this city a prime target.
Despite constant shelling and disruptions to the water, gas, and electricity supply, an estimated 8,500 locals are hanging on –- down from a prewar population of more than 65,000 -– but many are clearly rattled.
“Is this the press f***ing coming here again?” asks one local woman when approached by a correspondent for RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service. “Get the f*** out of here.”
The woman yells back over her shoulder that when Russian drones see journalists there’s invariably an attack.
As if on cue, a stalker drone is heard overhead and the residents and RFE/RL team scramble for cover.
“People are restless in Kostyantynivka,” says RFE/RL correspondent Yevhenia Rusetska. “Artillery is currently hitting the city. The situation is difficult. It’s one of the most complicated areas on the front line in the Donetsk region.”
Since Russian forces made advances in early August around Pokrovsk, some 60 kilometers away, Ukraine has been focusing on turning back the incursion, with only partial and grinding success.
The front lines have shifted several times since then.
Daily Aerial Attacks
Meanwhile, Kostyantynivka, a key link in keeping Ukrainian forces supplied, has come under daily aerial attacks by Russian artillery and drones.
Kostyantynivka has been badly battered, with whole neighborhoods reduced to rubble — but some residents are still determined to hold out, despite the unrelenting presence of the lethal overhead drones that stalk civilians.
“When there’s a quiet moment, we run to the shop,” says one woman as she hurries along a deserted street, bearing bags of supplies. “When there are strikes, we run back home so we don’t find ourselves under a drone.”
Currently, even accessing Kostyantynivka comes with a serious risk of drone attacks, despite long corridors of netting that have been set up along the main road in and out of the city.
The improvised drone defense has helped many to continue getting to and from Kostyantynivka, but the nets don’t stop every attack drone –- some drivers, both civilian and military, never make it through.
