Bucha, Ukraine, is returning to normal but many still suffer from trauma from war.
ABC News correspondents went to Bucha to see its rebirth.
The April trip from Kyiv, Ukraine to Bucha took more than two hours. They had to navigate through checkpoints and bombed bridges that slowed their progress. The trip is now back to its original 45-minute length.
Bucha's streets were littered with charred trucks and trucks a few weeks back. Now, flowers are transforming the scene, and thick grass has replaced mine-planted meadows.
ABC News' team went to an apartment block they remembered being dark and frozen in April. They met Mykola Pavlyuk again, who had previously shared his story with ABC News back in April. He showed where his three friends were buried in his backyard.
Pavlyuk, who was forced from his home by Russian troops had previously lived underground with other residents of the building.
Pavlyuk was responsible for picking up the remains of his body to be buried.
ABC News reported that Pavlyuk had left Bucha after his April visit to stay with his sister. He has received medication from his family doctors and help from his church.
He said, "Eventually I had no choice but to get up and go on." "I was fortunate to get a new job. "I'm grateful that I have a job. It's only the beginning. Life goes on. I try to forget about the bad times. It doesn't always work out. Everything reminds me of the old days."
Pavlyuk still struggles with the pain he endured despite hearing all about Pavlyuk's April interview having such an impact on the world.
Pavlyuk stated that "I don’t feel great." "I start remembering. It's difficult. I try to keep my head down. I looked at my family and friends but I feel terrible."
Pavlyuk stands outside, looking at the homemade graves of his friends. He acknowledges the regrowth.
He said, "It helps it's summer." All the destruction is concealed by the greenery. It is hiding the terrors in Bucha.
Pavlyuk, like many Bucha residents, can't forget about the mass graves and torture that have defined Bucha.
The city's churchyard has been reclaimed by a mass grave site. The only memorials that can be seen are small ones, while dried flowers in Ukrainian colors rest at the base.
Pavlyuk is skeptical that an investigation will be conducted into the atrocities.
Bucha isn't the only place that has been subject to alleged war crimes by Russian troops.
A Russian soldier aged 21 pleaded guilty last month to the murder of an unarmed civilian in another city. This was the first trial for war crimes since the war began.
The war in Ukraine continues, and citizens don't have time to grieve. The flowers of Bucha are looking fragile as Russian forces continue to hold Donbas.
