Solace for war-weary

BEACHGOERS: UKRAINE LAKESIDE BUSY WITH SUMMER SUNSEEKERS

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Raisa Ustimenko barely looked up as a fighter jet swooped overhead, roaring over the lakeshore in Sloviansk towards the agonisingly close war front in eastern Ukraine.

The 67-year-old was more focused on rummaging through a plastic bag for the plums she brought for her summer picnic by the lake.

"Take some of my plums... This one is the best - the largest," she said as the noise from the fighter became deafening.

Some beachgoers shrugged at the roar. Others shaded their eyes to watch the swerving Ukrainian Su-27 as it sped away towards the front just 20km away.

The lakeside is busy on summer days with mostly elderly residents who stayed behind when half the population of Sloviansk fled the Russian advance.

It is one of the pockets of relative normality even in areas near the front, where residents can seek some solace from the war and the heat.