Before the war, before it was occupied by Russia, and before the bitter battle that ended with Ukraine retaking control of Lyman in October, locals called this city “The Gates of Donbas.” It was an export hub for regional commodities such as coal, salt and sand.

Now, it is bombed weekly. Residents say they often don’t bother trying to make home repairs because the violence never ceases.

Lida, 85, shows what’s left of her top-floor apartment after it was hit by bombs.

“This is my apartment,” she says, breathless after walking up four normal flights of stairs and the crumbled remains of the fifth flight. “There is nothing left. Fire destroyed everything. … I would not have believed it if I didn’t see it.”

Some residents say perhaps it is too late for Lyman to ever return to normalcy. Entire neighborhoods are flattened, factories are closed and the railway, where about 35% of the population used to work, is no longer operational.

“I regret not leaving,” says Anna, a 65-year-old former railway worker. “But still, there is no money, and where would I go? I know a lot of people, but no one offered me a safe place. People ask why I didn’t evacuate. But to where?”

Few left in Torske

About 15 kilometers from Lyman and only a few more from the front lines is the village of Torske, which is almost entirely abandoned. Ukrainian soldiers whizzing by in military vehicles say the town is still in full view of Russian fighters and frequently hit.

The Russian fighters left behind cars, uniforms and personal items when they moved out of Torske. There is almost no one left to clean up.

A man passes on a bicycle. He pauses but declines to explain why he remains alone in his destroyed home just outside of Torske. He says life here is a little better recently because the clamor of battle has moved a bit out of town.

“Things got really bad here,” he adds, remounting his bike.

Fighting continues nearby

In the nearby battle zones, Ukraine and Russia both engage in brutal fighting to take or retain Torske and other villages on the way to Lyman’s strategic crossroads. Besides being a critical transportation hub, it also sits between the areas occupied by Russia and the city of Kramatorsk, the regional capital under Ukrainian control.

Ukraine is expected to launch a massive counteroffensive this spring, and Russia has built up defenses on the borders of the territories it now occupies inside Ukraine. Lyman residents say if the battles return to their city, they have no resources left to help them survive.

A year and half ago, Lyman had more than 20,000 people. Now, the few thousand remaining survive only on aid brought in from out of town.

“I had to flee wearing my robe and slippers,” says Lida, after showing us the dark, underground shelter where she now lives. “I lost everything. I’ve now been living in the basement since last year.”
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