13h22 : Le village de Stoyanka
The Russian snipers have the deserted streets of the Ukrainian village of Stoyanka in their sights, but Andriï Ostapets still hopes to bring food to his neighbors, and to his cats, if they are still alive. The 69-year-old returned with others to Stoyanka, a week after fleeing the village on the western edge of the capital kyiv. He heard that Ukrainian forces were chasing Russian troops there.
“Yesterday they chased them from our farm. The Russians have no chance of staying alive. They must surrender or die, ”says this man, owner of a private museum. An icy wind blows over Stoyanka, transformed into a ghost town after nearly a month of fighting and attempts by Russian forces to encircle the Ukrainian capital.
Shelling and gunfire still echo from the hills surrounding the village, where Russian snipers are hiding, according to Ukrainian volunteers defending the area. In fact, the fighting continues around kyiv, even if Russia announced on Friday that it would now “concentrate its efforts” on eastern Ukraine.