Civilians being evacuated in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region

KHARKIV, Ukraine

As Ukraine's war with Russia presses on, civilians in the northeastern Kharkiv region are being evacuated and relocated to the regional urban center of the same name.

Intense clashes persist in the Kharkiv region, where settlements near the front line are often subject to Russian attacks that result in significant damage to civilian infrastructure.

While the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the country has been responding to requests and evacuating civilians in Kharkiv, residents of remote towns and villages due to the conflicts are brought to the city of Kharkiv.

Anadolu followed the evacuation process in the region by accompanying Red Cross teams to the cities of Vovchansk and Kupyansk near the Russian border.

Focused operations

Speaking to Anadolu, Igor Klymenko, a representative of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, said they were mainly active in the Kharkiv region.

Noting that they had visited settlements in the Izium, Kupyansk, and Chuhuiv districts, he said: "We have covered nearly 500 kilometers (about 310 miles). We had to travel on roads without asphalt and near the front lines to reach some places.

"The front line was about 5-6 km away. We went as far as the Russian border."

Highlighting the danger of these regions, Klymenko said they recently evacuated an 85-year-old woman from Vovchansk, moving her to a retirement home in Kharkiv.

"Vovchansk, situated on the front line, is subject to 4-5 attacks daily. Civilians are killed in these attacks. This town is closed to volunteer teams and the press. Special permission is required to enter."

He also said they had made multiple visits to Russian-controlled Bakhmut, a city further southeast in the Donetsk region, to deliver humanitarian aid to civilians and conduct evacuations.

"We set out for evacuations based on the situation in the region and the requests we receive. These requests come from the local authorities, military administration, and coordination centers. We also receive requests through our call center. Additionally, people share information with each other," Klymenko said.

He noted that the Red Cross maintains offices in almost every region of Ukraine, adding that the office in the Kharkiv region had about 500 volunteer staff.

"Our evacuation team consists of 11 members. For civilians, the Red Cross provides initial aid, psychological support, humanitarian assistance, mine safety training, and conducts searches for missing people."

'We don't know what will happen to us and when'

"A shell fell next to our house, and the window and roof sustained damage. We don't know what will happen to us and when," said Elena, who handed over her 85-year-old relative to the Red Cross team in Vovchansk.

Elena said this was why they had decided to evacuate their relatives.

The UN human rights office called a Russian airstrike that killed 52 people, including an 8-year-old boy, in Ukraine on Thursday in "one of the deadliest" strikes since the war began.

"What is clear is that the strike is one of the deadliest since Feb. 24, 2022, but of course, it is far from being the only one," spokesperson Elizabeth Throssell told a UN press briefing in Geneva on Friday.

The attack occurred when Moscow targeted a cafe and a shop in Hroza, in the Kharkiv region.

* Writing by Seda Sevencan