The southern roads are empty of cars. Fighting is intensifying here along this front as Ukraine tries to retake the city of Kherson.
We traveled with a military escort through checkpoints, along deserted highways, to the shifting front line.
All villages have been heavily shelled – and it is getting worse.
Roofs were peeled off from the impact of the blast and the surrounding fence was covered with shrapnel.
No place is safe here.
But amazingly some residents decided not to leave.
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Even after months of fighting, Ivan told me he still shivered when the bombs started dropping.
“They’re shelling, they’re shelling at sea. There are two fires, you can see. And one fire over there. They break out every day,” he said.
Attacks happen at any time but it’s worse at night and early in the morning.
Those who stayed said they didn’t have the resources to leave.
The others were too unwell to run away and had no choice but to stay in the fire zone.
Lubov comes down through a trapdoor in her little house
Lubov showed me where she was waiting for the Russian artillery.
She descended through a trapdoor in her small house, which had been hit by shrapnel several times.
It was a dark and lonely existence as war broke out above.
“Every night we come here until morning. During the day, if there’s a lot of shelling, we have to go down. We’re scared. We hide and we’re scared. We’re waiting for it to end, maybe,” she said. .
After six months of conflict, the ruins of war along the southern front ravaged the countryside.
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Russian armor was destroyed at the outset of the invasion, and the front line had not moved significantly here for months.
War debris along the southern front scattered the countryside
Ukraine is hoping its forces can push the Kremlin’s war machine back from areas further south as it launches a counterattack.
Now this is a war going on across large areas and hide in these landscape artillery squads waiting to coordinate attacks on new targets.
But units stationed there say they need more supplies from the West to win this engagement.
Along the lines of communication, trench traffic stretched for miles.
The infantry units held a defensive position but were waiting to advance further.
Soldiers worry that Western support could fade away without steady progress.
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But Vasily, from the 59th Brigade, warned a defeat here would have consequences for democracies everywhere.
“A lot of civilians are dying. The Russians fight in filth. They have no morals, no war ethic. They just rush into looting, killing and raping.”
“If we don’t stop them here on our land, if God forbid they will take our land and destroy all our armies, they won’t stop here. Better push. They’re back here.”
The military is 100% confident it can win, but Ukraine says there are signs Moscow is becoming more desperate.
Attacks on civilian targets are on the rise.
In Mykolaiv, residents live under the constant threat of bombings. At a bus stop in the suburbs, seven people were recently killed by a Russian missile.
The war here is entering a new phase but this conflict is not going to end anytime soon.
The battle to pull artillery for the south will be a slow and deadly one.
