Russian attacks on Zaporizhzhia: dead and injured not far from the front

Most of the time it is quiet in the center of Zaporizhia. Explosions are heard much less frequently in the eastern Ukrainian city than in Kyiv. In the early evening hours you can often admire a singing drummer beating his drumsticks on the main street, Prospekt Soborni. And a few meters in front of him, children are dancing to it. Their parents, who support them, also enjoy music.

But appearances are deceiving. Hell begins just 12 kilometers further south, in Kuschuhum. The town, which had 7,000 residents before the war, is constantly under attack by the Russian army. In January, authorities began evacuating families with children from Kuschuhum.

But many initially rejected the evacuation. On August 22nd, Kuschuhum and neighboring Balabyne were hit by seven guided aerial bombs. Three people were killed. In September, evacuations became more difficult because of the increasing intensity of the attacks. The case of two women from neighboring Malokaterynivka, who walked for almost five days to Kuschuhum and hid from Russian drones, was sensational. And just ten kilometers behind Kuschuhum begins the “zero”, as the front is called in Ukraine.

The large-scale Russian war of aggression against Ukraine began with the invasion on February 24, 2022. The annexation of Crimea took place in March 2014, and shortly afterwards the conflict broke out in the eastern Ukrainian regions.

And the city itself is far from safe. “In my district of Kosmos,” says a passer-by, “no one just goes out on the street with their children anymore.” Especially towards evening, the FPV drones buzz over the streets, hunting pedestrians. She takes a device out of her pocket that looks like a larger pistol. It's a drone catcher.

When you pull the trigger, a web is thrown like a lasso over the drone you're aiming at. This causes the drone to fall to the ground at a safe distance. But this device costs 80 euros and it only has one shot.

But such devices only provide very limited protection. On Saturday, a Russian drone completely destroyed a private home where a family was staying. Rescue workers recovered the bodies of two women from the rubble. A 45-year-old man and a four-year-old boy suffered injuries of varying degrees of severity.

The districts of Shevchenkivskyi and Oleksandrivskyi were attacked. A total of thirteen residential buildings were damaged. In addition to residential buildings, a municipal market and a veterans home were also damaged.

Russia had already damaged two hospitals in the city with a drone attack on Friday night. Rescue workers evacuated five people from one of the affected hospitals. According to preliminary information, one man suffered minor injuries. A second hospital in Zaporizhia was also hit. There, rooms as well as an ambulance and civilian vehicles were damaged.

Against this background, there are also concerns in other medical facilities. “Yes, of course we fear for our clinic,” explains engineer Serhij Makarenko from the Nephrological Center to the taz. Makarenko is also an employee of the clinic and one of the 200 patients who receive dialysis there three times a week.

But direct drone attacks are not the only danger. “Since the private Ukrainian postal and courier service provider Nova Poshta has been regularly attacked by Russian drones, we can no longer expect to receive reliable dialysis supplies,” said Makarenko.

But no one is thinking about quitting at this time. "We're all doing our work. And the planning continues. Plans are currently underway for our own well." It is important for the clinic to no longer be dependent on the municipal waterworks. “Here in Zaporizhzhia the water pipes are very old and cannot provide anywhere near the quality that we need for dialysis.” Own artesian water would make the work easier.