Behind an apartment building in Kostyantynivka, hand-written wooden signs mark two fresh graves. A local man explained that his mother was killed by the blast wave of an explosion from a Russian attack last week. The second grave, he said, was for an old man who died of natural causes.
These makeshift burial sites reveal the desperation in Kostyantynivka, a city in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, where constant attacks have driven most of the population to flee for safety. Some victims have been buried in cemeteries, such as a civilian who was killed in an overnight strike on the district of Novoselivka. However, space in graveyards is limited, and few residents remain to transport or bury the dead.
Many who stay have had to bury their own relatives in courtyards or gardens.
Yevhen Tkachov, head of the Proliska Humanitarian Mission, is among the volunteers helping civilians evacuate while they still can. Pointing to several body bags in the yard of a building, he said, “This is the body of a neighbor who died in the strike. You can see what’s happening here — people die wherever they are.”
The bodies remain there until enough free manpower is available to bury them.
Russian forces have been slowly advancing toward Kostyantynivka over the past month, attempting to encircle the city north of Donetsk. This has made evacuation efforts increasingly dangerous for both humanitarian workers and the residents who remain.
“The conditions are getting worse — too many destroyed roads. Drones are flying, artillery is firing,” Tkachov said. But after years of war in Ukraine, he added, “We’re used to it.”
https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-front-lines-attacks-kostyantynivka-burial/33570366.html
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