B92 in Ukrainian village "destroyed by everyone"

B92 in Ukrainian village "destroyed by everyone"

STEPANOVKA -- As Kiev and Moscow exchange accusations of violations of agreements and a lack of desire to end the conflict, clashes continue daily near the Donetsk airport.

Meanwhile, residents of the village of Stepanovka, one of the showdowns of the conflict before the ceasefire agreement, are attempting to resume living in their homes.

Last summer, 22 out of the village's 155 houses were destroyed during the fighting.

The village of Stepanovka - or what is left of it - is located on the edges of the Donetsk region, near the border with Russia.

During the summer it changed hands between the warring sides - the Ukrainian army and the rebels - to become a stronghold of the former in late July. It was fiercely attacked and defended, and neither side spared it.

During the same period, the small settlement lost 12of its inhabitants.

"Here lies my neighbor Lyosha. We should bury him again in the cemetery," villager Aleksei Pavlyuk showed our reported.

Those who did not leave during the several months that the village was the frontline, hid in basements and sheds.

The greatest damage was done to Stepanovka on August 11, as the Ukrainian army lost control of it during a rebel offensive when heavy shelling was deployed.

"This is what they targeted us with. Here's a shell," Pavyuk says, holding a remnant of a shell that hit the village.

November is bitterly cold here. The wind blows without respite. People are salvaging what they can from their ruined homes and yards, preparing for the winter.

"There was war here, and everything burned, including the coal shed. They promised we'd get coal for heating...