Russian forces 10 km away, Ukraine’s Orikhiv under relentless shelling | Ground Report

Schools have been destroyed and homes damaged in Orikhiv due to continuous air strikes and shelling by Russian forces, who are barely 10 km away from the city.

While the world is locked into what’s happening in Kyiv and Mariupol, India Today reached the little-known Ukrainian city of Orikhiv, which is under relentless attack by Russian forces.

Located in Zaporizhzhia Oblast in south-eastern Ukraine, Orikhiv (also spelled as Orehov) is being pummelled by air strikes and shelling by the invading Russian military, which is barely 10 km away from the city. Schools have been destroyed, residential blocks have been reduced to rubble, and plumes of smoke from artillery strikes linger on the horizon.

India Today spoke to 73-year-old Victor, whose home was destroyed when it was hit by missile a few days ago.

“They were shelling in the night. I was with my dog in the kitchen when the shell hit my house at 10 in the night. The bedroom and the top floor are gone, there is a big hole in the roof,” he said.

READ: Russia intensifies attacks on Kyiv; Zelenskyy promises homes to displaced Ukrainians | Top points

He now lives in his kitchen, which was unscathed in the attack. Despite his age, Victor said it's not difficult to live in the kitchen and he is already starting to getting used to it. “Except that there are no amenities, no electricity, no proper water. Volunteers get us food, that's how we survive. The volunteers don't stop humanitarian aid despite all the shelling,” he added.

Victor said he is not afraid. Instead, he feels sorry for the children displaced by the war, who have nowhere to go. “I would gladly take people into my home, but my house is broken. I don't have anything left--no clothes, no furniture, everything is gone,” he said.