Valentyna Oleksandrivna, an 84-year-old resident of Kostyantynivka, has lived through wartime before.
"It's terribly upsetting to me that I was born during a war and I am dying during a war," she told RFE/RL's Current Time TV. "How is this even possible? I never would have thought Russia could go to war with Ukraine. Never."
Now her home in Ukraine's Donetsk region is under attack. A barrage of strikes by Russian-guided bombs and artillery over recent days has killed at least three people and left others wounded. One of the people killed was Oleksandrivna's neighbor.
Kostyantynivka sits roughly 10 kilometers from the frontline city of Chasiv Yar, the site of an ongoing Russian offensive.
The sounds of guided aerial bombs could be heard throughout the city.
"I used to flinch and get scared," Oleksandrivna said. "But now, if they're not firing, it's just strange -- how can that be?"
On April 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans for a three-day cease-fire in May to coincide with the annual celebrations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
But Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha responded by saying a cease-fire should be meant to last and should begin immediately.
With the region still under fire, local authorities in Donetsk have urged residents to evacuate their homes near the front lines.
But Oleksandrivna said she has no intention of leaving, despite pleas from her own daughter.
"No matter what happens to Kostyantynivka, I will stay," Oleksandrivna said. "This is my city."
That means holding out hope for a lasting peace deal.
"After I had a stroke, I thought I would never survive," she said. "And then I thought, no, why should I die when there is no peace? I will wait for peace, and then I will die."
