A Photo Essay: The Survivors of War in Eastern Ukraine

Local resident Lida cries outside Noah's Ark Church in the town of Krasnohorivka, saying, “in Kyiv they are far from reality, they cannot understand that war came to this town." (Adam Bailes/VOA)

Pastor Vladimir Ivanov, a volunteer from the Good News Church brings much-needed food aid into Krasnohorivka. The pastor says the situation is very dire and that the food brought by other churches and the Red Cross is not enough. (Adam Bailes/VOA)

Shelling destroyed many homes this year, including this apartment block in the town of Krasnohorivka, where residents are on the brink of a humanitarian crisis. (Adam Bailes/VOA)

A pro-Russian fighter walks through what remains of the rebel-held Donetsk airport, after intense fighting. (Adam Bailes/VOA)

A Ukrainian soldier in an underground bunker uses spy camera equipment to observe the strategic road toward rebel-held Donetsk Airport where fighting continues. (Adam Bailes/VOA)

Ukrainian fighters take a cigarette break near Pervomais'ke after returning from the front line. (Adam Bailes/VOA)

A pro-government militiaman makes preflight checks before a drone reconnaissance mission into rebel-held territory. (Adam Bailes/VOA)

A commander sits behind front line trenches 700 meters away from pro-Russian positions surrounded by the sound of heavy shelling. (Adam Bailes/VOA)

The Ukraine volunteer "body collector" places the corpse of a pro-Russian rebel in an ambulance. The volunteers regularly cross front lines to collect the bodies of the fallen, inside Donetsk People's Republic. (Adam Bailes/VOA)