Ukraine beauty salon near front line offers brief respite from war

The pristine, white-walled salon is one of the few havens of normality remaining in Pokrovsk, near the Ukraine border, as Russian troops close in.

An example of how life goes on in the deserted, shelled-out area even as fighting continues.

Inside, the buzz of hair clippers and blow dryers barely cover the thuds coming from the front line around seven kilometres away.

"Sometimes it's very loud, but it's okay, we try to work," says salon worker Natalya, "how can you not go to work if people are waiting for you?"