By Katie Stallard, Moscow Correspondent, in Donetsk
A set of metal steps leads you down into the darkness of the underground shelter, below a suburban arts centre in the rebel-controlled capital of Donetsk.
The power had gone off earlier that morning, there had been shelling nearby.
They weren't sure when it would come back on.
Children emerged from the makeshift tents, keen to show their toys to the camera - happy and playing with their friends, but pale.
Most have not been outside for more than a few minutes at a time for a month.
One young girl said she couldn't remember when she had last played above ground.
The adults are afraid to allow them further than the courtyard upstairs - they say the street across the park was shelled four days ago.
They say the school was hit too, and it doesn't have a bomb shelter, so it's no longer safe for the children to go.
They haven't been to class since December.
Some of the boys played with plastic guns - fighting imaginary soldiers, but their fear is visceral and real.
Several described explosions and the damage to their homes.
When they were asked who was shelling them, they replied "fascists".
By this they mean the government in Kiev - and that's what these children and their parents believe: that the Ukrainian army is attacking them, that "fascists" have taken power, and that they have only the pro-Russian rebels to protect them.
During the time that we were filming we could hear only what appeared to be outgoing rocket fire, but both sides blame the other for the upsurge in violence in recent days.
Outside what was a busy market in the city centre, we saw long queues for humanitarian aid, donated by Ukraine's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov.
The Ukrainian government has cut off pensions and social payments to those in rebel-controlled areas.
There is still food in the shops, but many particularly the elderly, have no money to buy it, and find themselves dependent on handouts.
All of which stokes the feeling here that the national government has abandoned them, that those in Kiev no longer care about their welfare.
It is not a recipe for a united Ukraine.
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