“Do you hear? It’s flying,” one resident said as a rocket passed overhead˳ “Then there is a boom,” he added as it detonated˳
Moscow’s intensified bombardment of Avdiivka and outlying villages is part of a broader offensive that has centered on the city of Bakhmut, about 34 miles to the northeast˳ Although Russia’s latest push has failed to capture any major town, its strikes have continued to lay waste to parts of eastern Ukraine˳
On Monday, the town’s military administrator, Vitaliy Barabash, ordered the remaining public officials to leave and barred journalists and aid workers from entering, citing safety concerns˳ A team of New York Times journalists visited just before the ban was announced˳
Avdiivka was once a bedroom community for Donetsk, the regional capital that in 2014 fell to Russian-backed separatists˳ That turned Avdiivka into a frontline town and an early target when Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, although the city has remained in Ukrainian hands˳
Now, out of a prewar population of 30,000 people, residents say only hundreds still live in Avdiivka˳ The Ukrainian authorities said on Monday that five children remained behind˳
Damage from shelling and rocket fire has strewn residential communities with rubble, making streets nearly impassable by car˳ Schools, health clinics, shopping centers and apartment blocks have been left with gaping holes˳ Chunks of unexploded ordnance protrude from the streets˳
Most residents who remain are middle age and older˳ Through the months of terror, they have moved into basements beneath the Soviet-era apartment blocks, setting up beds, makeshift kitchens, bookshelves and small Orthodox shrines in large rooms lit by candles˳
Below ground, the sound of artillery barely registered˳ Many occupants sat on their beds and stared into space˳ With no electricity or running water, the basements were humid and dark, a stifling smell pervading the air˳
Still, it was safer underground˳ One retiree said she hadn’t been outside for five months˳
People have stayed behind for various reasons˳ Some said they were too ill, others too attached to the lives they once lived˳ Still others said they were too poor to move˳
Some appeared too paralyzed after months of shelling to make the decision to flee˳
“I’ve been living here for 43 years˳ How can I leave Avdiivka?” said one older resident, Polina, who emerged from a basement to drop off cat food for a neighbor and check on damage to her apartment˳ Like others interviewed for this article, she gave only her first name, fearing for her safety˳
“I understand that to stay alive is more important,” she went on˳ “But at my old age I don’t want to hop around to different apartments somewhere else˳”
Yards from her apartment, a building was still smoking after a recent rocket strike˳
In a border region with strong ties to the former Soviet Union, loyalties are sometimes divided˳ Two older residents appeared to support Russia and blamed both sides of the war for shelling their community˳
Gennadiy Yudin, a Ukrainian medical police officer who is from Avdiivka, and a fellow officer who came to evacuate people on Monday were frequently rebuffed˳ Many residents knew the officers from previous visits and were used to their attempts to persuade them˳
One mother, Natalya, agreed to be evacuated with her 3-year-old daughter, Marina˳ She was distraught as she packed their few belongings into plastic bags, in part because she said she had no money to start a new life˳
Most times, when the officers approached, residents scuttled back down to their basements and slammed the door˳
