"People are tired and upset, but they do not lose hope"

Since 1996, I have been working in a tram depot. I have been living here all the time. When entering Avdiivka from the side of Donetsk, you can see my house, that decorated house [known for its bright graffiti]. It was the one that was damaged the first. The bombing was so heavy that we all were fleeing away wherever we could.

Now we have left for the village. We rent a house in the village, because we cannot live there, in our own house. There is no water, no electricity, no heating. Everything has been destroyed. I commute to work every time, but what to do. I need to work as I am still far from my retirement. This is how we live.

The town has changed a lot. It used to be very nice. Everything was clean and tidy, children’s playgrounds, everything was there. And now everything is damaged. The town is heavily damaged, especially the district in the older part.

Yet, people hope for the better and try to survive. Everyone is waiting for it to end someday and hoping that everything will be fine. We will have peace, and we will be going to work, and children will be going to school as before.

There are more people in the town now than before, when the war began. Many people return because they have nowhere to live. People are tired and upset, but they do not lose hope. Everyone believes that there will be peace.

The first railway carriage came and people were happy. Life came back to Avdiivka when it came, and we are happy because of that.