"I forgot to close the door." An evacuee’s rush to safety in Ukraine
By Viktoriia Andriievska
“I had to leave my home in a hurry, but I forgot to close the door,” said Angelina, 87, her voice trembling.
She just arrived at a transit centre in Mezhova after fleeing her hometown, Myrnohrad, following a mandatory evacuation order due to intense fighting.
“I need to go back soon; my entire library is there,” she said, not fully grasping that it may be some time before she can return. The war escalated near Myrnohrad in early August, with no end in sight.
Local authorities in the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk Region have established transit centres, including the one in Mezhova. These centres offer evacuees temporary refuge as they wait to be transported to safer areas of Ukraine. They receive food, hygiene kits, psychological support, legal aid and other essential services from local authorities and humanitarian organizations.
During a recent visit to the region, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, visited the Mezhova transit centre and a former transit centre in Pokrovsk Town, located about 30 km away in the Donetsk Region. Two nights before his visit, an attack by the Russian Armed Forces severely damaged the Pokrovsk Town transit centre, rending it unfunctional. “This is unacceptable,” said Mr. Schmale. “People must be safe in places like this.”
In meetings with the regional authorities of the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk Regions, Mr. Schmale reiterated that the humanitarian community would continue assisting people affected by the war, complementing the Government’s response.
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