Windows of opportunity Lack of glass hits homes

Shortage of glazing materials is impeding efforts to restore normality in areas damaged by Russian artillery attacks

- Daniel Boffey

Shevchenkove wants its villagers to come home. There is, however, one significant obstacle: many of its buildings do not have windows.

From the early days of the war until November last year when the Russian forces were pushed across the Dnipro River, Shevchenkove and surrounding hamlets in the southern region of Kherson were on the frontline.

The mayor was taken prisoner and the population terrorised by hourly shelling. Many fled. After the Russians withdrew, the danger of rockets remained, but many people returned.

There are 11,000 people in the region now; that is 5,000 fewer than in peacetime. In Shevchenkove, where the prewar population was 3,200, there are 2,200 residents. This is not enough for Oleg Pylypenko, the mayor, who was released in a prisoner swap. He wants everyone back. But the remaining stumbling block is clear: glass, or rather the lack of it.

People want to rebuild but they need to be in the village to do so. Shevchenkove's largest buildings, including a former orphanage with two dormitories, could accommodate those coming back on a mediumterm basis but the buildings have no windows and, even if they did, those windows would probably be smashed again before too long.