Postwoman Iryna Fedyanina’s laughter drowns out the mortar fire ringing out as she hands out pensions to the frightened masses near a river splitting Ukrainian and Russian forces.
Fedyanina giggles at her utter helplessness in the face of the overwhelming danger posed by the thuds and blasts echoing across the verdant hills. A elderly woman receives her pension from a postal delivery van that reached the frontline despite the ongoing conflict as the sound of mortar fire continues in Mayaky, eastern Ukraine, on May 6, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“Last month, we did not even think they would come, there was so much fighting. But in the end, they still came.”Ukrainian soldiers occasionally stop off at Mayaky’s two tiny shops and Sunday market to stock up on cigarettes and candy.