Nina is still afraid of her apartment collapsing in Borodyanka, Ukraine
7 images Created 20 Nov 2022
The winter might be at the doorstep of many, but to most Ukrainians, it is already home. While some wake up wet due to roof leaking water, Nina Petrova, 73, is afraid that her apartment might fall within.
While she sits on the 3rd floor of her apartment at a five-storey block 425A in Borodyanka, she says that she is grateful that quote "someone came and fixed the windows" - but she is anxious about the wall right-behind her sleeping bed.
The wall behind her bed looks swollen and unstable, "it is like a pregnant wall; one day it will give birth to something, it will only be darkness," Nina's neighbour Olha intervenes, adding that local authorities are repeatedly ignoring their concerns over the stability of their block of apartments, where 22 families reside.
This is the second time visiting Block 425A in Borodyanka, and little to nothing has been done. Residents are still terrified to live here but have no choice and nowhere to go. As the winter hits the Ukrainian household, with little to no hope for heat and electricity, the Russian forces continue to strike civilian infrastructure to force the nation into Russian rule.
I have witnessed and heard testimonies that local authorities repeatedly ignore the calls to intervene; I will continue to observe whether Nina and her neighbours will survive this winter.
Photojournalist: Vudi Xhymshiti.
Production assistant: Vadym Dumanchuk.
While she sits on the 3rd floor of her apartment at a five-storey block 425A in Borodyanka, she says that she is grateful that quote "someone came and fixed the windows" - but she is anxious about the wall right-behind her sleeping bed.
The wall behind her bed looks swollen and unstable, "it is like a pregnant wall; one day it will give birth to something, it will only be darkness," Nina's neighbour Olha intervenes, adding that local authorities are repeatedly ignoring their concerns over the stability of their block of apartments, where 22 families reside.
This is the second time visiting Block 425A in Borodyanka, and little to nothing has been done. Residents are still terrified to live here but have no choice and nowhere to go. As the winter hits the Ukrainian household, with little to no hope for heat and electricity, the Russian forces continue to strike civilian infrastructure to force the nation into Russian rule.
I have witnessed and heard testimonies that local authorities repeatedly ignore the calls to intervene; I will continue to observe whether Nina and her neighbours will survive this winter.
Photojournalist: Vudi Xhymshiti.
Production assistant: Vadym Dumanchuk.