But up close, it soon becomes clear that this is no vacation spot. Instead, it’s where groups of families gather every night to escape Russian shelling of their town about 10 miles away. “It’s terrible, very scary,” said Maryna But, 42, describing life in Marharnets. He said about a third of the buildings had been destroyed. “There are a lot of explosions, the windows are shaking, even my cat is running out of the house… It’s quieter here.” Her town is across the street from Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, which is under Russian control. Clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the region mean a double nightmare for locals, terrified of war and the possibility of nuclear disaster. Maryna and her husband, Oleksandr, have spent the past three weeks living out of their white van at night by the lake and only returning to Marharnets during the day. They have a few stores that sell building materials and believe they should continue to work despite the danger. “We’ll get out of here when there’s nothing left, when the city dies,” he said. Image: Tetiana Shumkina is camping with her husband and three-year-old daughter “Mom, what is this?” In a blue caravan parked next to theirs is Maryna’s friend Tetiana Shumkina, 31, with her husband and three-year-old daughter. And they, too, have been encamped in this place for the last three weeks. But Tetiana, a teacher, said Russian attacks on Marharnets had become so intense over the past three days that they no longer return home during the day. “It’s restless, unstable,” he said. Her little girl, Emma, ​​is frightened by the sounds of war. “At night, when the artillery was firing, he’d wake up and ask, ‘Mommy, what’s that?’ said Tetiana. Subscribe to Ukraine War Diaries on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker Distant thuds from the battles could still be heard in the pond. Tetiana kept her daughter close and played games with her to keep her happy. The young mother said she was equally frightened by the war and the possibility of a shell or missile hitting Zaporizhia, causing a radioactive leak. “All of this is bad. War is bad. People are dying. Children are dying… I can’t choose, both are terrible to me.” Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 0:40 “We will push the invaders to the border” “Even men are afraid” A team of inspectors from the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, is due to visit the nuclear facility this week to check for damage and assess the safety of the infrastructure. But officials do not have the power to stop the fighting, which put Europe’s largest nuclear power plant at such risk in the first place. For Alla Shevchuk, 62, the danger has become too great. She and her husband have camped out of their small, red car in a field down the road from the lake, which has also attracted crowds of terrified Marharnets residents. “It’s scary, very scary. Even men are scared. For the first time in my life, I saw that men were scared,” Alla said, her eyes filling with tears and her voice cracking. “We have a friend in town – he was concussed. There was an explosion in broad daylight and he was deaf… How to get back there during the day? You don’t know when and where and in what place [an attack might happen]. Just terrible. Terrible.” Image: Tetiana says region is ‘restless, unstable’ “I’m ready to leave – I’m scared” The couple would drive back to their town home during the day to charge their phones and feed their cat, but Alla said it was getting too dangerous. He opened the boot of the car to reveal a stuffed suitcase, a few bags with more items and a plastic bowl filled with fresh tomatoes. “I’m disabled and I have to carry everything with me,” she said, pointing to her things. “It’s a shame, but that’s how we travel, with everything we need.” Speaking on Sunday, she said she planned to take a train on Monday to move to Poland, where her adult son lived, having decided she could no longer stay in Marharnets. Although her husband wanted to remain in the area for the time being. “I’m ready to go,” she said. “I’m afraid.”