Hardly any area in Ukraine is currently as contested as that around the city of Bakhmut. Is this where the war will be decided? Despite the daily hail of bombs, some people remain in the city – and fight for survival.
The toy doll lies like a corpse in a debris field in downtown Bakhmut, directly across from a boarded-up jewelry store. Market stalls used to be here. She is dressed only in white panties, her right arm and head have been ripped off. All around them is a spinning top, a soaked stuffed animal, charred plastic bottles, torn shoes and a mannequin’s severed leg with the rags of a nylon stocking still hanging from it.