Halyna Artemova, an English teacher, lived in Mariupol for almost 40 years, at Metallurgy Avenue 87.
"It's my beloved city. When I look at the photos, it brings tears to my eyes. I know every crack in the asphalt, every tree," she told DW. Her apartment block in the city on the Sea of Azov was struck by a missile during a Russian attack in March 2022.
Photographer Yevhen Sosnovsky and his wife lived in the house next door, Metallurgy Avenue 85, for 20 years. "I did everything myself, all the interior renovations, and the furniture," he said. "We invested a lot in it; we planned to spend our twilight years there, living quietly." His building also caught fire during the missile attack, and residents were driven out by Russian troops. They weren't even allowed to take food or clothing with them.
Photographer Yevhen Sosnovsky documented his apartment before and after the Russian attackImage: Evgeny Sosnovsky
Now there's a parking lot where Sosnovsky's apartment block used to be. Next door, where Artemova once lived, stands a new building. The Russian building contractor Su-2007, which operates in the Ukrainian regions occupied by Russia, cleared several buildings on Metallurgy Avenue that were destroyed in the war and constructed high-rise apartment blocks in their place. These form part of a residential complex now known as the Leningradsky Kvartal.
