He was badly injured when he was 19, in 1944, becoming invalid, and he died during this current war."
The woman added, "In 2014, our home was badly damaged. In 2016/17, we were left without glass, so we covered our windows in plastic."
In recent months, they both say, "it is rare when it's calm here. There is constant shelling or heavy machine-gun fire."
I ask why they stay, knowing the answer. "Where can we go?" The man adds: "If we leave our house, it won't still be here when we come back."
On September 7, heavy machine-gun fire hit the area, it began in the evening and lasted through the night. "A fire started in the attic. It's good that we were at home; if we were not-- Their home might have gone up in flames like so many others in the area.
I asked about improvements post-Zelensky. The man laughed: "Don't mention Zelensky; he is a clown. The circus has gone but the clown remained. No, the situation hasn't improved; in fact, it became worse."
I asked why they believe Ukraine is bombing them. The woman replied:
Once I responded to one journalist by saying that we are shelled because the U.S. is fighting against Russia. The journalist responded by saying that this view is too global. But I said, 'What's wrong?! They need our territory. It's the U.S. vs Russia.'"
When I asked whether they support the people's will to possibly join Russia, the couple both responded, "Yes. There is no going back." The man added, "I want to live as long as God allows me, and becoming a part of Russia is a way for me to survive."
Further down the road, I met a man who was about to walk down the lane that I had been cautioned to avoid due to the risk of being shot by Ukrainian snipers. I was wearing, for the second time, the body armor Dmitry had provided. The man I met was only wearing a button-down shirt.
He didn't want to be filmed and told me:
After the last interview, Ukrainians shelled my house directly, burned part of my house. I'm alone there, for the past four years. To go to my home, I have to walk to an area exposed to sniper fire. I was shot in my leg. And many times I had to drop to the ground when sniper fire started."
I asked why he doesn't leave in the face of such danger: "I don't want to. It's my home. I thought the war would be finished quickly but it kept going."
Then he walked down the center of the lane into the range of potential sniper fire, and hopefully back to his home.
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