This small bus was full of people from Vovchansk and the surrounding small villages, on their way to Russia intensifying in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.
I met them at an intermediate point, from where they were being taken to Kharkiv itself, the nearest big city.
Volunteers and first responders helped those who could not walk and distributed water and food. As cell phone service was limited during the fighting, a satellite internet connection was set up, allowing evacuees to tell loved ones that they were safe or attempt to check on members of their family. family were still in danger.
Yet he barely had time to catch his breath.
Just over a week after Russian forces invaded the border again, thousands of people have been rushed to Kharkovthe second largest city in Ukraine, with a population now of 1.2 million inhabitants. Those who fled border areas described a war that destroyed entire streets.
Displacement is not a new experience in this region and evacuations may be far from over. Everyone on that bus had already faced Russian occupation: in the early months of the war, before Ukraine pushed them back, Russian troops had reached the outer periphery of Kharkiv, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee.
They are already bombarding the city again with missiles and powerful hover bombs. Although their new offensive has slowed in recent days, there are still fears that it could bring Kharkiv back within artillery range.
Written by Peter Robins.