In Photos: Ukrainian Residents Shelter as Russia Bombards Toretsk
Russia has escalated its assault on the town of Toretsk in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, forcing residents to take shelter and flee their homes.
Unlike other towns in Ukraine’s embattled east, Toretsk had escaped the worst of the fighting since Russia’s invasion in 2022. Then Moscow began a fresh offensive in Donetsk that has seen it capture several villages in recent days including Shumy – which lies less than 10 kilometers east of Toretsk.
The former mining town, which had a pre-war population of 32,000, now faces daily shelling. Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin has called for civilians to evacuate.
These are some pictures of the shelling’s aftermath.
Unlike other towns in Ukraine’s embattled east, Toretsk had escaped the worst of the fighting since Russia’s invasion in 2022. Then Moscow began a fresh offensive in Donetsk that has seen it capture several villages in recent days including Shumy – which lies less than 10 kilometers east of Toretsk.
The former mining town, which had a pre-war population of 32,000, now faces daily shelling. Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin has called for civilians to evacuate.
These are some pictures of the shelling’s aftermath.
A local resident pushes a bicycle past a destroyed residential building following shelling in Toretsk.
Roman Pilipey / AFP
An elderly couple, residents Oleksandr, 67, and Galyna, 63, fill bottles with water next to crumbling apartments.
Roman Pilipey / AFP
A local man walks past a building set alight by Russian shelling.
Roman Pilipey / AFP
Toretsk resident Olga takes cover in her apartment during a Russian air strike on Toretsk.
Roman Pilipey / AFP
A religious icon placed in the wreckage of a destroyed residential building.
Roman Pilipey / AFP
An elderly woman walks past a residential building reduced to rubble by shelling.
Roman Pilipey / AFP
A woman next to a mural depicting a miner. Coal mining was the city's foremost industry.
Roman Pilipey / AFP
The remnants of a residential building following shelling in Toretsk.
Roman Pilipey / AFP
An elderly woman sits in a car loaded with items of luggage after she and her relatives fled from Toretsk.
Roman Pilipey / AFP
A Ukrainian military armoured vehicle is driven towing a Msta-B howitzer on a road towards Toretsk.
Roman Pilipey / AFP
