World News for Students of English

03-07-2025 07:00

In Maryinka, a town in Ukraine’s Donetsk region destroyed by war, Galina Nevinnaya lives alone. She was the last person to leave during the Russian shelling in 2022, which gave her a concussion and trapped her in a basement.

Rescued by soldiers, she became the first and only person to return nearly three years later. Before the war, around 10,000 people lived in Maryinka. Now, it is almost empty. Her mother was killed in April 2022. Galina spends her days repairing her ruined house. She says some damage was caused by NATO weapons, though this couldn’t be confirmed. She survives using water from a well and finding food however she can. When asked why she came back, she answered with a proverb: ‘He who lives in his own home lives well.’

In 2023, President Putin declared the town under Russian control, although most countries don’t accept Russia’s claim to the region. Galina’s story shows the deep cost of war and strong personal resilience.

Difficult words: concussion (a brain injury from a hit or explosion), well (a deep hole to get water from the ground), resilience (the strength to recover or keep going after hard times).

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