Cold War bunker a life saver in devastated Ukrainian village

Svitlana Gynzhul walks in front of a damaged house, as her village was located between front lines and devastated by shelling during the beginning of the war, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Luch, Mykolaiv region, Ukraine, February 25, 2023. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

LUCH, Ukraine (Reuters) - For a Ukrainian village devastated by war, Cold War bunkers built to withstand a nuclear attack that never happened have proven a lifeline for residents who have spent much of the past year living in them.

Luch, a southern village, about 40 km (25 miles) northwest of Kherson, was hammered by Russian fire almost from the start of the war when it ended up close to the frontlines.