The city of Siversk, in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, has been reduced to rubble. As a key logistics hub for the Ukrainian military in its defense of the region, the city has become a major target as Russian forces intensify efforts to seize more territory.
Volunteer Yevhen Tkachov delivers humanitarian aid to the city’s isolated residents and is one of the few lifelines still reaching the frontline area.
He remembers what the city looked like before the attacks began.
"It was densely populated," he says. "There were multistory houses, a marketplace, lots of stores. Now it's in ruins."
The few remaining locals live in basements to shelter from daily Russian aerial attacks.
But even those people are at risk.
"A woman and her husband who lived in the basement were buried under the rubble," Zoya, an elderly Siversk resident, told RFE/RL during a break in shelling.
Nearby, a makeshift cemetery outside a leveled hospital is a grim reminder of those who have lost their lives during the Russian onslaught.
"We don't go there anymore," Zoya says.
Russian forces have recently increased attacks on the area in an attempt to break through and seize Siversk.
Outgunned Ukrainian troops have so far been able to hold the city and push back against Russian assaults as Moscow's forces try to advance further into Ukraine.
