Toy store owner Victoria Miroshchenko has reopened her shop in Kramatorsk, a city close to the front line in eastern Ukraine, despite the daily bombardment from afar.
She said it was a bit scary but they were getting used to it, as she was out of work for almost three months without receiving any substantial state support.Her business went bankrupt after the start of the Russian invasion on February 24.
Recently, businesses in the city of Donetsk in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region have been gradually reopening, and residents have begun returning.
"In my street, where there are about 300 homes, most of the residents have left. Now they're almost all back," Miroshnichenko said.Kramatorsk is a large city in the heart of the Ukrainian-controlled ruins of the Donbass, although Russian artillery is on Slovyansk, Siversk and Bakhmu Bombed nearby, but it is coming back to life.
According to Oleg Malimonienko, who just reopened his restaurant, people have no choice but to return home
. “In 99 percent of the cases, it’s because they need to eat well, pay the rent and the bills,” said the 54-year-old. Malimonienko hopes customers, including some of the Ukrainian soldiers roaming the city, will flock to his restaurant.
For Natalia Kirichenko, soldiers are an invaluable source of income. The shop assistant said that servicemen were regular customers and tended to buy a lot of items, especially knives and daggers.
“Like us, many people have returned to Kramatorsk but have no money,” the 56-year-old woman added, saying she had no choice but to resume work.
Although she received government assistance while the store was closed for three months, she said, it was not enough to make ends meet.
When we hear powerful bombardment coming from one side or the other, we feel the threat and worry what will happen.
Miroshnichenko said that the hardest thing about getting to work without a car was the unpredictable nature of using public transport in wartime.
“The tram stops every time the bomb sirens go off,” she said. The alarms sound several times per day and Miroshnichenko has had to brave a 50-minute walk to her shop since it reopened for business.
The struggle to get around Kramatorsk has prompted Vladimir Pozolotin’s bicycle centre to resume service, the shop employee said, speaking from the basement of a building.
“Many have asked me on my YouTube channel when we were going to reopen because some are scared of taking the car. Others have no petrol or don’t want to join long queues at service stations,” he explained.
“So they buy a bicycle or come to get theirs repaired,” said the 33-year-old, who pedals four kilometres (2.5 miles) every day to commute between his home and work.
Customer numbers were only 10 per cent of what they were before the war, but “it’s better than nothing,” the young man said with a smile.
Edited copy.....Original source fromPunch News
She said it was a bit scary but they were getting used to it, as she was out of work for almost three months without receiving any substantial state support.Her business went bankrupt after the start of the Russian invasion on February 24.
Recently, businesses in the city of Donetsk in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region have been gradually reopening, and residents have begun returning.
"In my street, where there are about 300 homes, most of the residents have left. Now they're almost all back," Miroshnichenko said.Kramatorsk is a large city in the heart of the Ukrainian-controlled ruins of the Donbass, although Russian artillery is on Slovyansk, Siversk and Bakhmu Bombed nearby, but it is coming back to life.
According to Oleg Malimonienko, who just reopened his restaurant, people have no choice but to return home
. “In 99 percent of the cases, it’s because they need to eat well, pay the rent and the bills,” said the 54-year-old. Malimonienko hopes customers, including some of the Ukrainian soldiers roaming the city, will flock to his restaurant.
For Natalia Kirichenko, soldiers are an invaluable source of income. The shop assistant said that servicemen were regular customers and tended to buy a lot of items, especially knives and daggers.
“Like us, many people have returned to Kramatorsk but have no money,” the 56-year-old woman added, saying she had no choice but to resume work.
Although she received government assistance while the store was closed for three months, she said, it was not enough to make ends meet.
When we hear powerful bombardment coming from one side or the other, we feel the threat and worry what will happen.
Miroshnichenko said that the hardest thing about getting to work without a car was the unpredictable nature of using public transport in wartime.
“The tram stops every time the bomb sirens go off,” she said. The alarms sound several times per day and Miroshnichenko has had to brave a 50-minute walk to her shop since it reopened for business.
The struggle to get around Kramatorsk has prompted Vladimir Pozolotin’s bicycle centre to resume service, the shop employee said, speaking from the basement of a building.
“Many have asked me on my YouTube channel when we were going to reopen because some are scared of taking the car. Others have no petrol or don’t want to join long queues at service stations,” he explained.
“So they buy a bicycle or come to get theirs repaired,” said the 33-year-old, who pedals four kilometres (2.5 miles) every day to commute between his home and work.
Customer numbers were only 10 per cent of what they were before the war, but “it’s better than nothing,” the young man said with a smile.
Edited copy.....Original source fromPunch News
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