In eastern Ukraine, residents of Pokrovsk evacuate the town as the Russian army moves closer

Russian troops are now only ten kilometers from the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine. Civilians are being urged to evacuate as quickly as possible. Departures began on Friday.

As has often been the case since the start of the war in Ukraine, the evacuations of cities threatened by the Russians are taking place calmly. On the platform of Pokrovsk station, in the east of the country, there is no rush but there are tears, lots of tears. Civilians began to evacuate on Friday, August 23, while the 53 000 residents have been ordered to leave. The Russian army continues its advance towards Pokrovsk, the soldiers are now only ten kilometers from the entrance to the city.

“It’s too scary to live here, says a family from Pokrovsk. All this destruction… Strikes, constantly. The windows and doors were blown out by a missile that landed next to our house. We hoped that the front line would not retreat all the way here, that our guys would hold on. But now, if we stay here, we fear we won’t wake up in the morning. It’s better to leave. And I think we’ll never come back here again.”.

“We are leaving but our hearts remain here.”

Olga, from Pokrovsk

to franceinfo

The train sets off, under the gaze of the station master who is also worried: “They hit all the public buildings. They know how to spot them. I’m also afraid for my station, afraid that it will end up like those in Kramatorsk or Kostiantynivka.”. In fact, since the beginning of the war, the Russians have not hesitated to strike evacuation points such as train stations several times.

In Pokrovsk, there are those who flee by train and those who leave by car like Anatolia, who has piled suitcases in the trunk and on the roof of his old Lada. “Rockets, shells, bombs… he emphasizes. All this falls on me”. This 75-year-old man is heading towards Dnipro, 2.5 hours away, further west. Tetiana is resting for a few minutes on a bench, her cat is in a travel crate. “What are we guilty of?” asks this Ukrainian woman.

“Why are they attacking us? We used to live normally here.”

Tetiana, from Pokrovsk

to franceinfo

Victor’s job, as the director of a refugee aid association, is to go and find civilians in villages near the front.Every day, constantly, people call us, ask for us, cry for us to evacuate them. Most of these people are over 70 years old, there are also those who are disabled.”he explains.

However, not all civilians want to leave Pokrovsk. They are afraid of losing everything: their apartment, their belongings. Svitlana, an administrative director at a school, therefore sends them this message: : “‘To save your children’s lives, there is only one solution: leave.’ I tell my employees that too. We only have one life, not two.”.

Svitlana is packing her boxes because in a few hours she too is leaving. Nothing is keeping her here anymore. The Russians have destroyed her school. : “On the night of August 19, two missiles fell on our school, which has been serving as a reception center for evacuees for two years. Since the beginning of the war, there have never been any soldiers here, so I think the Russians are specifically targeting civilians.”. And this is why for several days, local authorities have been urging residents to leave the town of Pokrovsk as quickly as possible.