«Everyone Lives Equally Badly», — Severodonetsk Resident on How the Locals Survive under the Russian Occupation

Yelyzaveta Andrukhova, who graduated from school this year, told «Vchasno» what life is like in occupied Severodonetsk of Luhansk oblast.

Although the girl and her family managed to leave the city very quickly at the beginning of the war, she continued to monitor the situation in Severodonetsk. According to her, their apartment building more or less «survived» bombardments, although the windows were broken. According to her, this is a standard situation throughout the city.

The Russians tried to get into the apartment:

«Maybe someone else lives there. Because the Russian military lived in the apartment building. They definitely lived in neighbors` apartments,» the girl says.

Yelyzaveta would really likes to know what happened to her apartment, but almost everyone who lived nearby had already moved out. It's the same with the parents' office, they don't know what condition the building is in. However, according to the girl, it is no longer very important.

Queue for the pension issued by the occupiers

The city is in terrible condition, there are no laws, there are no rules:

«It has its own ecosystem, there is no electricity and water, and Ukrainian patriots have nothing to do there at all. How can you live there?» Yelyzaveta asks herself.

Recently, according to her information, the city regularly collects money from those who stayed behind for various needs. At first, they tried to buy generators, but now they buy meds for a local hospital.

Most of the city is destroyed and looks like this

According to her, this standard of living is a banal «return to the past». The girl says that all her friends and acquaintances left the city, and those who remained were mostly supporters of Russia:

«They pretend that they like everything and have to experience it. It is more comfortable for them because these are people who are used to living in such not very good conditions», — this is how the girl characterizes those who stayed in the city.

The psychology of such people is simple — they are used to the fact that someone else's business is better than theirs. And now everyone is on the same level — everyone lives badly and that is why it is quite normal for them to live in a dilapidated city. A certain amount of responsibility is removed from them. At the same time, the girl understands that some people are not supporters of the occupiers, but she does not really understand why they did not leave the city.

This is how people get water in the city now

A large number of people who remained in the city are pensioners and they are trying to issue payments already «according to the new laws». However, many of them lost their documents on fire during the constant shelling of the city. The occupiers once again blamed the Ukrainian military for this. Yelyzaveta says that the occupiers are trying with all possible means to create a negative image of Ukraine and the Armed Forces. Although half a year ago, these people lived in a city that was developing, and then they did not have such problems.

Also, local residents continue to be told that the «reconstruction» of the destroyed housing will soon begin, although taking into account the latest statements by the «leader» of the «LPR» about the rejection of plans to rebuild occupied Popasna of Luhansk oblast, few people believe this.

A mobile TV that broadcasts Russian propaganda

A new type of «business» is flourishing in the city. A group of people helps to replace doors or locks on them. Although in fact, before work, a person has to show documents for the ownership of housing, it can be said that they were burned during the shelling. In this way, strangers start moving into the apartments of those people who left the city.