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Transcript/ScriptUKRAINE BAKHMUT REFUGEES
HEAD: Goodbye Bakhmut: Escape from Land of Wine and Roses
SUBHEAD:
PUBLISHED AT: 4/27/2023 at 11:45pm
BYLINE: Heather Murdock
DATELINE: Kostiantynivka, Ukraine
CONTRIBUTOR: Yehor Konovalov
VIDEOGRAPHER: Yan Boechat
SCRIPT EDITORS: MAS, Bowman
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB _X_ TV x RADIO x
TRT: 2:51
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: WEB
EDITOR NOTES: WEB AND PICS WILL ALSO BE FILED))
[[INTRO: Most families from Bakhmut, Ukraine left months ago as fighting in their city became vicious. But now even those who vowed to stay to the end are leaving. VOA’s Heather Murdock reports with videographer Yan Boechat from Kostiantynivka, Ukraine.]]
((MANDATORY COURTESY: 93rd Mechanized Brigade 'Kholodnyi Yar'))
The battle for Bakhmut is the longest and bloodiest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to date.
Most people left the city long ago. But soldiers are still rescuing some families who stayed out of love for their homeland, fear of homelessness and poverty, or both.
Fleeing families say nowadays it’s impossible to know how many people still remain.
((FOR RADIO: Here’s 61-year-old Natalia, on a bus, after leaving a temporary shelter outside the battle zone))
((Natalia, Fleeing Bakhmut Resident)) ((Female in Russian))
“We were underground in a bunker all the time, so we don’t really know who is still there.”
((FOR RADIO: She says they were underground for so long that she doesn’t know how many people are left in Bakhmut.))
((NARRATOR:))
At a former kindergarten in Kostiantynivka, aid workers from Bakhmut say they provide temporary shelter before sending evacuees to cities farther away from the violence.
This city is about 30 kilometers from Bakhmut and it still takes fire regularly. The ongoing tragedy in this region, which has been at war since 2014 and is now the epicenter of the war in Ukraine, is in stark contrast to the area’s past.
Bakhmut was once home to more than 70,000 people and well known for salt production, sparkling wine, and natural beauty.
((FOR RADIO: This is Anna Scherbak is an administrator at the shelter for Stay Safe UA.))
((Anna Scherbak, Stay Safe UA)) ((Female in Russian))
“It was a pleasant and cheerful place. It was very green with many roses. And even though there were so many people, everyone knew each other.”
((FOR RADIO: She says when she was a child Bakhmut was cheerful and green, and everyone knew their neighbors.))
((NARRATOR:)) Abandoning the land where generations had lived before them seemed an impossible choice, but ultimately many people had to flee. Some did so without a chance to bury family members killed in the war.
((FOR RADIO: Svetlana is 74, she escaped Bakhmut in early April.))
((Svetlana, Escaped Bakhmut Resident)) ((Female in Russian)) 10:20
“When we were shelled… everything was destroyed. It took us two hours to rescue our dog, who was not fully under the rubble. To find the bodies of my brother-in-law and nephew would have taken heavy machinery.”
((FOR RADIO: She says after her bunker was hit, her brother-in-law and nephew were buried so deep that they couldn’t recover their bodies. They were able to rescue the dog, Dana, after a two-hour search.))
((MANDATORY COURTESY: 93rd Mechanized Brigade 'Kholodnyi Yar'))
((NARRATOR:))
Russia has been slowly taking more and more areas of the city in recent months.
((end courtesy))
Ukrainian officials say the battle for Bakhmut is critical to national morale and strategic for long-term victory.
((HEATHER MURDOCK VOA NEWS, KOSTIANTYNIVKA UKRAINE))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
KOSTIANTYNIVKA UKRAINE))
Embargo DateApril 27, 2023 18:09 EDT
Byline
HEATHER MURDOCK VOA NEWS
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
