Once nicknamed ‘highway to hell,’ Izyum tries to rebuild, forget Russian occupation

IZYUM, Ukraine (AFP) — Apart from the blown-up tanks and plants that were destroyed by seven months of war, the road leading to Izyum — once nicknamed “highway to hell” — could be a normal road in Europe.

The asphalt paving machine has been past and the bomb craters have been filled in.

A team of workers in orange reflector vests has painted white lines on the road surface to indicate where it is safe to pass a vehicle.

Five weeks after the recapture of this small but strategic town in eastern Ukraine, a new battle for reconstruction is taking place.

An army of construction machinery and builders is busy fixing what is left of the infrastructure and erasing any sign of Russian occupation as quickly as possible.

Ukrainians have started by making use of what Russian forces left in their wake — like the remains of a pontoon bridge on a tank marked with the letter “Z” lying in the Donets River.

For 3 months, this latest model of T-90A, which was sunk by the russians at the crossing, was in focus of numerous video and photo reports. Autumn has come, the water in the river has cooled, and it is time for him to join the ranks of #UAarmy. pic.twitter.com/L8xszBi2rY

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) October 16, 2022

“We’re going to recycle every piece, re-shape them and use them here or somewhere else that we need it,” said Lieutenant Denys Ponomarenko, a 27-year-old military engineer.

At the entrance to the city, a board with the yellow and blue colors of the Ukrainian flag carries the message: “Friends, you are free!”

And now Izyum is coming out of its long isolation.

Roads and rail links are working again and the 4G mobile phone network was partially restored a few days ago.

But essential services like water, gas and electricity were devastated, leaving residents dependent on humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations.

Out of a pre-war population of 46,000 inhabitants, only 8,000-9,000 people remain.

‘Doing what we can’

In the city’s central square, which President Volodymyr Zelensky visited on September 14 to raise the Ukrainian flag once again, a queue has formed of people hoping for aid.

“Apart from this, nothing is working,” said Ivan Zakharchenko, a 70-year-old resident, who said he hopes buses will be restored so he can go and get his pacemaker checked.

Nearby, a worker on a telescoping ladder is nailing chipboards to the empty windows of the church, which was built in 1648, that same year as the town’s fortress.

“The restoration of the church is a symbol of the restoration of the town,” said Semyon, 48, the local Orthodox priest.

The rest of the town is largely in ruins.

"Earlier, when we looked up, we always looked for the blue sky. Today, when we look up, we are looking for only one thing – the flag of Ukraine."
President Zelensky visited the newly liberated Izyum in Kharkiv region.
???? via @APUkraine pic.twitter.com/AhtYHsYnGR

— SPRAVDI — Stratcom Centre (@StratcomCentre) September 14, 2022

“I have some water at my house but I live on the third floor and the pressure is very weak. I also have electricity but we have no gas or heating and we do not know if we’ll have any for the winter,” said one resident, 47-year-old Nadiya Nesterenko.

“My daughter lives above me on the 5th floor and she still has a missile stuck in her roof. And her kitchen and bathroom are open to the elements,” she said.

“Nobody has come to take it away. We have seen nobody,” Nesterenko said.

Izyum mayor Valery Marchenko told AFP that local officials were focused on repairing damaged apartments “to heat them this winter.”

He said they were being helped by “volunteers” but admitted no major reconstruction work could begin before spring.

“We are doing what we can,” he said.