The idyllic Ukrainian beachside resort town of Kyrylivka, once a bustling summer hub, now lies abandoned under Russian occupation.
Knewz.com learned that this destination with its recreation areas, kids camps, amusement parks, and theaters - still adorned with beach chairs on the seashores - lost its internet, then television connection, and is now nearly devoid of people.
Television producer and broadcast journalist, Michael Linder, took to X to show recently recorded footage of the location.
On the beaches, there were skeletons of awnings minus their tarpaulins and boarded-up buildings.
Aerial footage of the location showed piers with rows of recreation vessels docked side-by-side and a water theme park with numerous slides.
Notably, the footage also captured a few individuals but nowhere near as many as there were before Vladimir Putin’s so-called Special Military Operation (SVO) in Ukraine.
Earlier images depicted throngs of bikini-clad sun worshippers on Kyrylivka’s beaches.
A story submitted by a Ukrainian teacher under Voice of America’s “Teach US About Ukraine” writing competition, explained that the community had a long and favored history among its visitors, saying:
“For more than 200 years, Kyrylivka was the tourism center of Ukraine. Locals and visitors enjoy the salt air and the beaches of Peresyp Spit and Fedotova Spit.”
Kateryna Protasova, a teacher of ten years, taught, lived proximal to, and frequented the tourist hotspot with her students to teach them about the local fauna and flora.
“However, that all changed on the first day of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022,” Protasova wrote.
“Kyrylivka was not bombed but villagers could hear Russian aircraft and rockets attacking surrounding cities and villages. There were sounds of automatic gunfire on the seashore and explosions all around the bodies of water.”
As a result of the latter, scholars were forced to take a vacation while teachers and parents hoped that the attack would end in weeks.
During this period, Protasova would reach out to her students in group video calls but it was not long before Kyrylivka’s internet was removed, followed by their television stations.
Protasova was not put off and made house calls to check on her students and their parents. But soon even the teacher’s resolve would be challenged.
“It seemed as if someone's heavy hand was strangling me to a slow death. During almost four months of living under occupation, breathing became more painful despite the fresh air of the sea,” she wrote.
She decided that like many of her students and their families, she and her 5-year-old son would leave Kyrylivka too.
“One morning, holding our breath, we left Kyrylivka.”
“There were 17 Russian checkpoints from Kyrylivka to Vasylivka. Military vehicles and civilian cars were shot up on both sides of the road. At one checkpoint, a man was forced to strip as Russian troops looked for tattoos and scars.”
Despite her decision to flee, Protasova claims she entertains the idea of returning to the beachside town.
“I will return to my village of Kyrylivka. And I will again breathe the fresh air of the Sea of Azov. I will again take in the aroma of the Utlyuk and Molochny waters. And I will teach the Ukrainian language again in our Azov school,” she wrote.