Near Ukraine war’s front lines, threatened villages try to build a future
Anton Palyey stands proudly before the new three-story school building, its cheery accents of bright paint soon to greet returning students.
It was built to replace the school destroyed by Russian shelling in 2022, when enemy forces occupied this lakeside resort village just 12 miles from the Russian border. Staryi Saltiv was recaptured in a counteroffensive in the fall of 2022.
“If there is no school, no hospital, and no state services, people won’t stay here or consider coming back,” says Mr. Palyey, who has served as Staryi Saltiv’s military-appointed administrator since Ukrainian forces took the village back.
Pointing to the northern horizon, where a plume of dark smoke rises over the town of
