In Pokrovsk, threatened by the Russian army, the inhabitants would have “wanted to hold out longer”

The same heartbreaking scenes as at the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Since August 19, and the order given to civilians to evacuate the city, the Pokrovsk train station, a city located in the Donetsk region, has been stormed by residents. On the platforms, hundreds of people prepare, every day, to board the train that will allow them to flee the war.

In the distance, the sound of bombs echoes, this Tuesday, August 20. Nearly 650 people are gathered in the station. The children cannot hold back their tears. The anguish of the exodus mixes with the scorching temperatures. The day after the order to evacuate, as the train sets off, Natacha remains in shorts on the platform. She has come to say goodbye to her daughter and grandson. “They leave alone, and I have to stay here”she says. Natacha is a doctor. She will leave when there is no one left to treat.

About 50,000 people still live in Pokrovsk, a major logistics hub in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, which is now under threat of being completely surrounded by the Russian military. Authorities say they have just two weeks to leave.

Despite the surprise offensive launched by kyiv in early August in the Russian region of Kursk, the Russians continue to gain ground every day, advancing one to two kilometers per day. “Russia’s main efforts and greatest forces are concentrated there”Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted on Wednesday, referring to a situation “extremely difficult” for his men.

In 10 days, a wind of panic has begun to blow over the city. On the ground, the Ukrainian military seems overwhelmed. Off camera, they admit to lacking men and ammunition. But what worries them most are the kamikaze drones, flying objects equipped with explosives that can even fly at night.Russia produces them industrially to target military vehicles approaching the front.

This deadly weapon thus became the anguish of Bordan, a 29-year-old soldier based in Pokrovsk: “Reaching combat zones by car has become an act of heroismhe says. Before, we died at the front; now, it’s on the road leading to the combat zones.” This young father, wearing a military bob, sporting tattoos and a full beard, has been fighting for several months to defend the city. He has already lost many friends because of these killer drones.

It’s not just drones: the Russians also have more shells. As a result, this mining town, where our teams spent several days, is being bombed almost daily. On Wednesday, the Pokrovsk city hall made a difficult decision: to close the town’s only hospital, for fear that it would become a target for the Russians. Health workers now have until Friday evening to transfer their patients to safer areas.

With tears in her voice, Svetlana, head of the general medicine department, explains the situation to the patients. “We would have liked to hold out longer, to stay until the endbreathes this brunette woman with blue eyes. It’s hard, I think people here can’t realize what’s happening to them.” Now we must leave, with the feeling of abandoning those who remain. And this question, which persists and haunts Svetlana, mother of two children: “Will we be able to return to Pokrovsk one day?”