The citizens of Bakhmut brave life in a besieged city

The remaining inhabitants of battle-weary Bakhmut cling together in solidarity and try to make a living in a Ukrainian town where the rumble and roar of war regularly interrupt the silence of the streets.

A Danish television crew visiting the besieged city found people who met fear and adversity with kindness and compassion.

“We’re all scared,” Tetyana said. “All it takes is a little humanity and a little humor.”

Tetyana runs a combined pharmacy, power plant and food supply in the war-torn city. She showed Danish correspondent Anna Gaarslev the meal she was cooking for some of the city’s vulnerable residents.

She said, “Today I got inspired, so I decided to make a stew with canned beef and vegetables and a leek soup.”

In the shadow of ruined buildings in the western part of the city, a street market sells vegetables and sausages. Shoppers explain why they chose to stay home rather than flee the fighting.

Lesya said: “We love our city. Don’t you love your city too? The same way we love ours. Our city is covered in blood and we are being killed. But we love it anyway.”

“I only have two relatives here, my aunt and my cousin,” says Ruslan. “They don’t want to leave. And neither do I.”

Leaving Bahkmut is not the only dilemma for Ruslan. When the grenades and bombs come, he has to make different choices.

“I have to figure out what’s most dangerous – inside, where the ceiling and everything could fall on my head, or outside where I can get out. I do not know.’

Despite the constant threats people in Bakhmut face, some residents hold on to a sense of optimism and hope for peace.

“I ask the whole world to give us so much peace here. Then I distribute it so that everyone gets a small seed of peace,” says Tetyana. “It is almost spring and we sow our fields with all good things. Then it will grow and become so big. After that, we Ukrainians, who are really good-natured people, will share the peace with the whole world.”