HRABSKE, Ukraine (AP) – Alexander Bespalko and his son lifted parts from a burned-out Ukrainian armored personnel carrier in a village ravaged by the past week’s battles. With homes destroyed and livelihoods lost, residents in the village of Hrabske must scrape for a living and at least scrap metal is reliable – with wrecked tanks, cars and APCs everywhere.
“My home was leveled and I need to rebuild it somehow,” Bespalko said Sunday, in between giving instructions to 9-year-old Denis, who was clambering hammer in hand over the metal carcass.
“This heap of junk is scrap that I can make some money from,” he said. “Everything is destroyed and there is no work.”
Hrabske and the nearby strategic town of Ilovaysk have suffered badly from recent clashes as separatist Russian forces relentlessly chip away at areas under government control. Few streets are free of the scars of artillery attacks. More than half the schools across rebel-held areas stayed closed Monday on the traditional first day of school, so Denis was free to continue on scrap collection duty.
Ukrainian forces made notable strides after fighting broke out in April, but that has been almost all reversed in a major recent rebel counteroffensive. Kiev and Western countries allege Russia has sent in troops and equipment to bolster the pro-Russia rebels, but Moscow firmly denies it and rejects suggestions that it can wield influence over the rebels.