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Around Vovchansk – under a stormy sky, Andrii, 44, an evacuator from Kharkiv, Ukraine, presses the accelerator pedal.
In the back, Nina, 74, her daughter, Ludmilla, 53, and their neighbour, Alina, 77, grip the armrests of the small van taking them from the outskirts of Vovchansk to Staryi Saltiv, Kharkiv oblast, a small town that has become one of the rallying points for the evacuation of civilians in the region since the start of the Russian counter-offensive.
The journey is only 25km, but takes around an hour, as there are a number of checkpoints and a river crossing over a make-shift bridge.
On May 10, Russian forces opened a new front in the northern Kharkiv region, a territory they initially conquered at the beginning of the war before it was recaptured by Ukrainians during the summer 2022 counter-offensive. Moscow began its latest offensive with an aerial bombardment campaign, particularly using glide bombs, which left widespread destruction in their wake.
Today, Ukrainian forces control 70% of the city, which had a pre-offensive population of at least 17,000 inhabitants. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has called the defensive operation a success. “The Russian Army has failed to execute their Kharkiv operation,” he said last Saturday. However, despite this relative success for Ukraine, Russian forces continue to heavily bombard Vovchansk, reducing it to a field of ruins.
Dodging potholes as best as possible, Alina suppresses a cry: “Lord, save us.”
Once they cross the Donets River, the three women calm down. The cries turn into tears, and the tears, into laughter. “Thank you, my God,” continues Alina. “We are saved.”
At the entrance of the central alley, surrounded by small destroyed houses, is the meeting point. It is equipped with a generator and a Starlink terminal. “You can charge your phones”, explains Andrii. “There is also water and an internet connection”.
‘We Didn’t Know Where to go or who to call’
Natives of Vovchansk, Nina, her daughter, and Alina had spent several weeks in the basement of their house. “There was nothing left, no water, no electricity, nothing to eat. We had to drink water from the pipes”, Nina told Byline Times.
Widowed and caring for a disabled daughter, Nina did not know where to go. “We had no network, no internet… we didn’t know where to go or who to call.”
Running out of supplies after several weeks, Nina, her daughter, and their neighbour finally decided to flee their village on June 7. “We heard a car and went out to see… It was the police. They took us and dropped us off a bit further, on the Ukrainian positions”, recounts Ludmilla.
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“I threw my shoes behind me. As a promise that we could one day return home”, adds Nina with a smile before revealing her feet, covered only by a pair of torn socks.
Bohdan, 45, another resident of Vovchansk, arrived that morning. “I didn’t want to abandon my dogs. They are like my children,” he explained. Andrii added: “Sometimes, people wait until the last moment before leaving.”