Evacuations from Pokrovsk as Ukraine marks 1,000 Days of Resilience
Published: Nov 19, 2024 Reading time: 3 minutes
For 1,000 days, Ukraine has been bravely resisting Russia's full-scale invasion. During this time, dozens of once-thriving cities and villages have been reduced to ruins. The latest missile strikes claimed the lives of eleven people in Sumy and ten more in Odesa. Pokrovsk is one of the most at-risk areas in eastern Ukraine. According to local authorities, Russian forces are just 7 kilometres from the city's outskirts, once considered a hard-to-reach area in the first two years of the invasion. Over the past few months, tens of thousands have fled Pokrovsk, yet many remain in the city. Our team travelled to Pokrovsk, partnering with the organisation Angels of Salvation, to evacuate residents to safer regions.
Empty streets of Pokrovsk. Before the full-scale invasion, the city had a population of around 60,000. As of 18 November, 11,000 adults and 49 children remained. Another 17,000 people stayed in the Pokrovsk area.
Evacuating from Pokrovsk is becoming increasingly complex daily: the roads are under fire, and authorities cancelled the evacuation train due to the worsening situation. Despite the danger, our partners from the Angels of Salvation charitable foundation evacuate people daily.
"People register through the administration's contact centre. A small bus picks up everyone who has registered. The main goal is to leave no one behind," says Taras Kravets, evacuation coordinator for the Angels of Salvation foundation.
Entering Pokrovsk with large vehicles is too dangerous, so we evacuate people using minibuses. The Angels of Salvation evacuated approximately 1,200 people from the Donetsk Oblast in October.
"We are ready to help anyone who wants to leave. We have an ambulance, medics, and specialised transport. However, a few days ago, our armoured vehicle was damaged when a drone hit it. Fortunately, no one was injured. While the vehicle is under repair, we are limited in the areas we can reach. Still, the ambulance and medics are ready to go wherever it's safe," says evacuation coordinator Taras Kravets.
22 residents were evacuated from Pokrovsk on November 19. Most of them were older people who had hesitated to leave their homes until the last moment.
"The past few days have been very loud, so I decided to stay with my relatives in Dnipro. Looking out the window at the empty city where I spent my entire life is heartbreaking. I feel fear of the unknown. It seems like no one needs us here, but I will try to settle down and find a job. I want to believe that one day I will return home, though I have no illusions," shared one of the evacuated women.
People can only take the most necessary things with them. But even amid the war, a woman brings presents to her grandchildren.
In the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, people can board the evacuation train or stay at a transit centre for internally displaced persons. There, representatives from People in Need register newcomers for financial assistance.
These individuals will add to the harrowing statistics. Fleeing shelling and explosions, nearly four million Ukrainians have left their homes and relocated to safer regions within the country. More than six million have sought refuge abroad.
Russia's war in Ukraine continues to destroy lives and futures. Amid intense shelling of residential areas and energy infrastructure, the needs of civilians grow. We must strengthen our efforts to help Ukraine endure and rebuild.
