Ukrainians in freed village tell of life under months of Russian occupation

Viacheslav Myronenko, 71, stands in front of the entrance of a damaged building where he lives in the freed village of Hrakove, Ukraine (Leo Correa/AP)

Ukrainians in a newly freed village have spoken of life under months of Russian occupation.

Houses and shops in Hrakove, south-east of the country’s second-largest city Kharkiv, lie in ruins, while its school is a bombed-out hull and its church is scarred by rockets and shells – though its golden dome still gleams in the fading autumn light.