Before 2022, Partyzanske, a small village in southern Ukraine, was home to about 1,000 residents. Inhabitants led peaceful lives, many earning their living through agriculture or working in nearby factories. However, when the war erupted, the frontline cut through the heart of the village. Almost all the residents were evacuated, and artillery strikes flattened most of the village.
When Russian forces withdrew in 2022, the residents of Partyzanske slowly began to return. Among them was 85-year-old Riva, who had lived in the village for 57 years. A lifelong farmer, Riva had always enjoyed the beauty of nature around her home. Now, she returned to find everything in ruins. A rocket fragment still sticks out of the ground where her bedroom used to be.
“Everything I owned was destroyed. There was nothing left. It made me feel like I had lived in luxury before,” Riva recalls. Upon her return in May 2023, only one room of her house was habitable. “I sleep, cook, and live all in that one room,” she says. Despite her limited mobility, Riva manages to survive, with volunteers bringing her bread and food once a week.
Surviving on Cast Iron Stoves
Partyzanske lacked access to gas until March 2024, forcing the 300 residents who had returned to rely on old cast iron stoves and firewood for heating and cooking.
For 66-year-old Kateryna, Partyzanske had been her home for 38 years before the war forced her to flee. Though she now has a one-room apartment in Mykolaiv, about an hour away, it is no substitute for her home and family. “I miss living in Partyzanske. I miss the nature,” she says.
“I have slowly begun to rebuild my home and get things back. I don’t need much to live.”
“It was really hard living without gas during winter. That’s why getting gas again is invaluable. It is easier to stay warm and cook.”
Kateryna’s daughter has returned to her house in the village, and Kateryna now spends most of her time there as well. The house, once in ruins, is being rebuilt from the ground up. Though there are still fragment holes in the walls, the family has managed to build a new kitchen where they can cook together again, thanks to the restored gas supply.
“We focused on rebuilding my daughter’s house. It has been a long process. In the beginning, we had no water, electricity, gas—nothing. Everything was destroyed,” says Kateryna. “Now, we’ve built a new kitchen, and we can cook as a family again because we have gas.” Despite the progress, Kateryna’s own house remains uninhabitable. “I have to start completely from scratch.”
“Life is returning”
Lyubov shares a similar story of loss and resilience. When she returned to her home in November 2022, the village was in ruins. “I came back to nothing. No electricity, no gas, no water. My roof had holes in it,” she says. She relied on a small stove for cooking and heating during the harsh winter months when temperatures often drop below freezing.
“85 per cent of our village is destroyed. It was terrible to return to. The only thing we want is a home. It’s impossible to have a real home without heat and a roof over your head,” Lyubov explains.
For months, she managed with her stove until the gas supply was restored. In the meantime, Lyubov has repaired most of her roof, and life is slowly returning to the village. “Shops are starting to open again. They have what we need,” she says, though the absence of her neighbours weighs heavily on her. “None of my closest neighbours have returned. Their homes were completely levelled.”
Despite the devastation, the stories of Riva, Kateryna, and Lyubov reflect a shared determination to rebuild their lives in Partyzanske. Each step towards recovery—whether rebuilding a kitchen, restoring gas, or opening a shop—brings them closer to reclaiming the life they once knew. As Lyubov poignantly notes, “Life is beginning to return to the village, but we still have a long way to go.”
See how the restoration of the gas supply has impacted the lives of people in Mykolaiv
About the project
Financed by the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF), DCA/NCA in partnership with the Ukrainian organisation Southern Development Strategy (SDS) are working to restore the heating and gas supply before winter sets in. Critical heating infrastructure requires repair and maintenance to prevent a crisis for the civilians in the frontline areas.
Centralized heating infrastructure repairs involve restoring coastal pumping stations and boiler houses for urban residents. Furthermore, gas pipeline repairs will support households in four villages. In total the activities has supported 168,913 residents of frontline communities. This includes:
- Restoration of a coastal pumping station for a central heating plant in Mykolaiv.
- Repair of gas pipelines for conflict-affected villages used for heating and cooking.
- Providing water supply to a boiler house at Kherson near the frontline by drilling two wells.
- Repair and replacement of pumping equipment, power cables of electrical equipment and partial replacement of boiler house networks.
