"It is the war that no one needed"

I have lived half of my life here. I built a house, had children, and planted a magnificent orchard. To pull it all together, I lived and enjoyed my life. Then war came to our village. It is the war that no one needed.

I was a happy man before the war. I live with my beloved wife. I have two children — a son and a daughter. Children have their own families and have their own children. I am a grandfather with two grandchildren and one granddaughter.

I live my life fearing for my grandchildren

Before the war, I was very fond of hunting and fishing, but due to the military actions, I had to give up everything. The area around has been mined. There are tripwires everywhere. Therefore, hunting is prohibited.

I never thought that when I reached retirement age, I would live out the second half of my life like this: fearing for my children and grandchildren. I feel very sad thinking about my grandchildren who hear and live with these shots. What does the future hold for them? Now we all live one day. There is no destruction or victims, everything is fine.

Every citizen of Bugas will keep this time in their memory

I believe that the end of 2015 will remain in the memory of every resident of the village of Bugas when 28 houses were immediately damaged. I believe that our Church of St. Mary was the shelter that protected the citizens in that terrible evening.

The temperature may drop to 17 degrees in winter

Rinat Akhmetov is doing a great job for all Donbass people. He was the only one who did not leave us in a difficult moment. As for my family, the food packages I receive help us a great deal to save our family budget.

I am a pensioner, I get a very small pension, 1300 UAH, although I have worked all my life as a driver. Wife receives minimal salary. Therefore, the [grocery] kit is very useful for us. We have to tighten our belt during winters since gas is expensive. We spend all our money to pay for the utilities (considering that we have subsidies), although the temperature in the house is 17 degrees. We have the subsidy, but we have to save gas.