After a tough winter and a costly defeat in the stronghold of Avdiivka, Ukrainians are facing one of the most difficult moments of this war on the Donbas front lines. With a frightening shortage of ammunition and without strong defensive lines, Russian troops are trying to advance on the region. As soldiers fight, many civilians face a tough decision to leave everything they built in their lives behind or wait to see if the war takes a different turn.
In Photos: Around Ukraine’s Avdiivka, Civilians Flee, and Soldiers Fight as War Gets Closer
- By Yan Boechat
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Paraskevia, 73, lives just 3 kilometers from the front lines. Shelling is constant, and she says she’s scared. Despite all the danger, she is staying in her home in Ocheretyno, March 4, 2024.
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Soldiers wait for orders to fire mortars in an artillery position on the front lines of the Kreminna forest, March 7, 2024.
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An armored carrier brings soldiers who have spent the last days fighting in the trenches of the Kreminna forest, an active front line in the Donbas region, March 7, 2024.
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A soldier walks back to his bunker after having the order to fire with his artillery piece canceled by his superiors, in Chasiv Yar, March 5, 2024. With a shortage of ammunition, Ukrainian soldiers are firing 10 times less than a year ago.