Anastasia Rokytna
War correspondent
![Anastasia Rokytna](https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_glossy+ret_img/https://iwpr.net/sites/default/files/styles/teasers_tablet_322_x_322_/public/2023-01/Anastasia-Rokitna.jpg?h=2a479378)
Close to the frontline, the city in eastern Ukraine endures regular shelling on residential buildings and key infrastructure.
The city is at the centre of a war of attrition between Ukrainian and Russian forces, who have been trying to take it for over six months.
Locals say that the physical and emotional damage will take a long time to heal.
As forces approach the regional centre, they describe growing evidence of Russian atrocities.
The Ukrainian counter-offensive has regained swathes of territory, but towns are devastated following savage bombardment.
Nearly six months of Russian occupation have left behind a terrible legacy.