Before Russia's invasion, conflict last gripped Toretsk in 2014, when it was captured by pro-Russian separatists. Ukrainian forces retook it later that year.
Now the mining town is just a few kilometers from the separatist-controlled Donetsk region. Not so far away, Ukrainians forces are trying to stop the advance of Russian ones.
The explosions and sounds of artillery are loud, residents said.
But it is not so easy to leave. Some are elderly. Some have small children. Some, like Cheromushkin, have no job.
"You don't know what will happen tomorrow, let alone the next minute," Cheromushkin said. His wife, Tatiana, called the situation "constantly depressing."
It is also a constant source of worry for Vasyl Chynchyk, the head of civil and military administration of Toretsk.
"The enemy is cunning. The enemy doesn't care about infrastructure, doesn't care about civilians," he said. "The enemy acts deliberately, using intimidation, conducting mass shelling."
The most important task now is evacuating residents while the town is more or less calm, he said.
But evacuation takes energy, and Tatiana says she has none left.
"I want to believe that it will come to an end soon," she said. "They will come to some kind of an agreement."
