“Hostomel, Ukraine – Andrii Kurpich, a towering, leather-clad 49-year-old chauffeur, manoeuvres his way through the dark and dingy basement of a half-ruined apartment block in Hostomel, a town about 20km (12 miles) northwest of Kyiv. Water drips from the overhead pipes into murky puddles and a stale humid smell hangs in the air. This eerie underground network of corridors and partially flooded rooms was home to nine of the block’s residents, including Andrii and his wife, Viktoria Kurpich, for more than a week after Russian troops stormed the building on March 5, 2022. Viktoria, a cheerful 51-year-old homemaker with short blonde hair, dressed all in black, says she was ‘terrified the soldiers would kill us’ when they knocked on their front door and ordered them outside with their hands up. ...”
Russian shelling has laid waste to large areas of the city
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