Dmytro Romanenko was born and raised in Mykilske village, Donetsk region. He spent more than 30 years of his life working hard at a mine in the neighbouring town of Vuhledar. “Every day we felt threatened. One evening, a missile came, and fear became a part of our lives,” the man recalls the first days of the russian invasion. In early March 2022, Dmytro’s family moved as far away from the front as possible. First, they moved to Svitlovodsk, then to Odesa, and then settled in Pivdenne. 

“Vuhledar now looks like a ghost town,” the man describes the consequences of the bombing of the mining town. The shelling also destroyed Dmytro’s apartment. The man realises that he will not return to his former usual life. “Everything is destroyed! It will take decades to rebuild. But we will not give up, we will work, we will fight for our future,” says the former miner with determination.