NOVOSELIVKA, Ukraine – As battles unfolded around Kyiv, a Russian advance stopped in front of Maria Metla’s house. The artillery emptied the house to the maximum, while the rest was pulverized by the fire of the tanks.
Metla, 66, is now counting on her neighbors for this winter.
Teams of volunteers show up almost every morning to pick up anything that can be reused, laying piles of clean bricks, kitchen appliances destroyed as scrap metal, and pieces of insulating panels.
The recovered curtains are being reused to rebuild destroyed houses along the perimeter of Russia’s failed attempt in the early stages of the war to encircle and capture the Ukrainian capital.
The village of Novoselivka, 140 kilometers (nearly 90 miles) north of Kyiv, was the scene of heavy fighting during the 36-day attack on the capital. Metal doors are deformed through the bullet holes of chimneys with firearms and houses like Metla’s have been destroyed. through soil and aerial bombardment.
“We dragged what we could into the basement. Five bombs, one, two, three, four, five, exploded in our box,” Meta said as she stood in what was once the living room of her destroyed home. in keeping a burnt training motorcycle and a devoted icon of St. Nicholas as reminders of life before the war.
The Ukrainian government said last month that the country had suffered more than $100 billion (two-thirds of its gross domestic product in 2020) in infrastructure damage alone, but estimates the reconstruction effort may charge more than seven times that amount.
Officials are calling on Western countries to exploit frozen Russian assets in addition to what they are willing to give to foot the bill.
Poland’s container houses are being set up near Novoselivka, a village full of orchards, sunflower fields and gardens with chickens, outdoors in the historic northern town of Chernihiv. But the scale of the damage prompted dozens of local initiatives.
“In many other countries, if your house is destroyed, you can put up an ‘Atsell’ sign and move to the city. It’s not like that here,” said Andriy Galyuga, a local volunteer organizer. “People are very attached to their home country and don’t need to leave. “
Galyuga’s organization, Bomozhemo, is in contact with similar projects that have sprung up in the Ukrainian capital.
In a destroyed house, Galyuga jumps a damaged staircase to lead a team of 25 volunteers who carry concrete blocks rescued from a slide and decisively tear off construction fabrics with picks and levers.
Children and retirees participate in the effort overseen by worried landlady Zhanna Dynaeva, who prepares food for workers, many of whom have also lost their homes.
Dynaeva, with an emaciated appearance, lives with a friend, but goes to her space every day in a pristine garden. Bring trays of drinks and sandwiches the day volunteers arrived to visit.
“I’m very grateful to them. The other people around me helped me a lot,” he said. As she recounts her escape from the bombing, Dynaeva breaks down in tears and is embraced by her homeless neighbor, Metla.
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