The southern city of Mykolaiv has found itself on the front line of the fight for almost all of the war thus far, with nearby Kherson occupied by Russia. The uptick in strikes have added another element to deal with for a city that has known little but tension for months. FRANCE 24’s reporters Luke Shrago, Taline Oundjian and Achraf Abid went to Mykolaiv to find out just how its residents - and defenders - were coping.
Nothing remained of the top two floors of an apartment block in Mykolaiv after being struck by a Russian missile. It would take weary emergency workers a day to remove the rubble - and the bodies.
According to the fire department chief Andry Pankratov, “In recent days there have been more and more strikes on residential blocks and civilians”.
It is the third time this particular district of Mykolaiv has been struck. Local resident Tetyana Mykolayenko expressed her pain. “They say on the news they’re bombing neonazis. Where can you see neonazis here? There are just peaceful people here, elderly people who’ve stayed behind. How can anyone live like this here now?”
The situation is even worse in small villages like Prybuz’ke which has seen most of their residents flee regular bombardments.
According to Leonid, a local resident, before the war the population was probably around 1,350 people. “But now, there are fewer than two percent left, about thirty people. The scariest thing over the last couple of days have been the silent moments. This week, they’ve been bombing us constantly.”
