Sheltering in the basement of his shell-damaged apartment block in eastern Ukraine, 65-year-old Volodymyr rarely steps outside as Russian forces advance toward the city of Kostiantynivka.
“Everything around us has been destroyed and burned,” he said. “It’s frightening, but we keep going — what else can we do?”
Volodymyr, who remains in the city to care for his sick mother-in-law, is one of many residents trying to endure life inside shattered, debris-filled buildings as winter arrives.
Russian troops are closing in on Kostiantynivka, once a vital base for Ukrainian forces in the east. Moscow aims to seize more territory while Kyiv faces rising pressure to accept a U.S.-backed peace proposal that may require difficult concessions.
With the strategic city of Pokrovsk close to falling, observers believe Russia is now shifting focus to Ukraine’s “fortress belt” — a line of remaining cities still under Ukrainian control. Kostiantynivka appears to be the most vulnerable, with Ukrainian group Deep State reporting battles at the city’s southern outskirts. Distant explosions shake the area, and drones buzz overhead throughout the day.
Nowhere Else to Go
Volodymyr has turned the concrete basement into a makeshift living space, complete with kitchen shelves and a stove. Residents have stored food from humanitarian groups, which stopped deliveries due to intense shelling. They also collect rainwater and purify it at a nearby station.
“It’s difficult, but manageable,” he said, wearing a headlamp while a generator droned nearby. “We’ve adapted and settled in as best we can.”
Outside, an elderly woman in a thick blue coat dragged a propane tank past two Ukrainian soldiers patrolling the ruined streets.
Another resident, 54-year-old Yuriy, is still recovering after neighbours rescued him from the rubble of a Russian strike on his apartment building.
“Where could I possibly go? And with what money?” he asked, explaining that rent elsewhere costs nearly triple his monthly pension of $85.
“It may be destroyed,” he said of his home, “but at least it’s mine.”
High-Pressure Diplomacy
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in London on Monday seeking broader European support after what he described as “constructive but difficult” talks between U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators. Kyiv has rejected several U.S.-proposed terms seen as too favourable to Moscow and is pressing for meaningful security guarantees as part of any peace framework.
In Kostiantynivka — located in the Donetsk region that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to surrender for peace — Ukrainian troops continue to move through the devastated streets, searching for cover beneath trees and the remains of buildings.
Dmytro, a 32-year-old soldier from the 49th Separate Assault Battalion “Carpathian Sich,” said he doubts the war will end soon.
“I see every centimetre of our homeland as important,” he said, visibly worn down. “And we won’t give it up just like that.”