He rode his bike under fire. A resident of Chasiv Yar spoke about the situation in the town

“Everything was on fire”

“The Russians are advancing, the fighting can be heard closer and closer. The artillery is very active and smashes everything to pieces. My family and I stayed for a very long time. I said a long time ago that I would leave Chasiv Yar only if there was a threat of occupation. Now, judging by the front line and the map, it is very big, but let's hope that neither God nor the Armed Forces will allow it,” Oleksii says.

The man spent about two hours on the dangerous journey. The bicycle was loaded with his family's personal belongings, which Oleksii had evacuated from their home. So it was not easy to pedal.

“It was a bit scary. There is constant shelling in the city. When you go from one end of the city to the other, the risks of being hit are very high,” he says.

Now in Kostiantynivka, the man says that the past week in Chasiv Yar can be compared to being in hell.

“Many houses burned down. My house miraculously remained intact. Everything was on fire. Ten houses near mine were already destroyed, and there was no one to put them out. And now the weather is like this — everything is in smoke. There are fires. There are even videos from copters. It's a horror. This week has been a week of hell,” the man complains.

Even though the only way to survive in Chasiv Yar is in basements and shelters, there are still approximately 690 residents there.

“Some people are afraid of the unknown, afraid to go somewhere. Everyone has their own reason. Some people don't want to leave their house, belongings, or property,” explains Oleksii.

Evacuation from Chasiv Yar is still possible

So far, the exit from the city is open and there is a possibility of evacuation. The reports spread by propaganda in Russian communities about the alleged blocking of the exit from Chasiv Yar by Ukrainian troops are a complete lie, says Oleksii.

“It is not true that they are blocking the exit. Now people, whose houses have been destroyed, are actively leaving Chasiv Yar. I contacted volunteers, and volunteers came to visit us in places where we couldn’t go anymore. I left freely. No one stopped me,” the man adds.

Serhii Chaus, head of the Chasiv Yar City Military Administration, says that more people are willing to evacuate now.

“These theses about the impossibility of leaving are being spread by Russian channels, and Russian online communities, which are trying to disorient people as much as possible. Evacuation is happening, leaving the city is not only possible, it is happening every day,” Chaus said.

He emphasizes that there are no Russian troops in the city.

“There are no occupiers in Chasiv Yar. And God forbid that there shouldn't be. The fighting continues, it is very active, very intense, so it is difficult,” emphasizes the head of the city military administration.

Despite all the difficulties, the “Point of Invincibility” continues to operate in Chasiv Yar, and drinking water, medicines, and essential food are regularly delivered.

“The shelling of the city does not stop. Every day, in fact, every hour something hits. That's why it's very difficult for the residents now. The evacuation is going on gradually. Yesterday we evacuated two people, and every day we try to evacuate one, two, or three people from the city. We are trying to continue to meet people's basic needs. Humanitarian aid and water,” said Chaus.

“Now, every trip is a lottery”

Previously, Novyny Donbasu journalists often traveled to Chasiv Yar with a volunteer and local resident, Yevhen Tkachov. Now the man says that it is not an easy task to get in and out of the city in one piece.

“Unfortunately, every trip is a lottery now. Driving is very dangerous for two reasons. The first is that drones are omnipresent, hunting any car: civilian, non-civilian, with Red Cross emblems, without Red Cross emblems. No matter what you paint, cars are still attacked. And the second problem is air bombs. They are unpredictable, they can hit at any moment. That's why it's becoming more and more dangerous to live there and to go there with humanitarian aid,” explains Tkachov.

Because of this, the local volunteer decided to go only if it was an evacuation to save lives.

“Otherwise, they have enough humanitarian aid, everything is enough. They, grown-up men and women, made a conscious decision to stay there, it's their choice. If help is needed to save someone’s life, I am ready to risk my life. For other reasons, I'm sorry, but I’m not ready,” Yevhen Tkachov emphasized.

Yevhen considers Oleksii's decision to evacuate Chasiv Yar to be timely.

“Many people were worried about him: his family, the church, and his social circle. Because he is a very good person who helped a lot of people in Chasiv Yar, but it was time to leave,” says Tkachov.

Oleksii will stay in the Donetsk region for some time. He plans to help volunteers prepare free lunches for the Armed Forces. The organizer of this idea is a pastor from Romania, supported by a colleague from Spain. Together with concerned Ukrainians from the Chernivtsi region, they prepare about 1,500 meals a day for Ukrainian defenders who are currently holding back the pressure of the Russian army in the Donetsk region.

The volunteers will stay in the Donetsk region for about a week, then go home and take Oleksii to his family, whom he evacuated to the Chernivtsi region before the Russians stormed Chasiv Yar.