A train carrying people fleeing the war-ravaged eastern part of Ukraine arrived at the Dnipro station on one evening in mid-March. As the doors of the train opened, two staff members wearing badges marked Vostok-SOS – an Ukrainian humanitarian organization – ran up to an elderly woman and supported her to move onto a transporting vehicle. Then they deftly placed another woman who had difficulty walking onto a stretcher which carried her to an ambulance. Carefully choreographed operation inside the station took barely 10 minutes and the two women were taken to a nearby resting place.
 
Starting in June 2022, Peace Winds has joined hands with Vostok-SOS to help evacuate residents from war front areas of eastern Ukraine.
 
The woman that the team helped was originally from Chasiv Yar in the outskirts of Bakhmut where fierce battle continues. As the security situation in the vicinity of Bakhmut significantly deteriorated, her family living away requested Vostok-SOS to help her evacuate. A train ride was arranged in a hurry. The woman was not prepared when the evacuation team arrived at her home because there was not enough time for her family to properly inform her of the evacuation beforehand. “I just crammed everything which was within my reach into the bag and just left,” recalled the woman with a tense pitch in her voice.
 
So far, our joint evacuation activities have helped more than eleven thousand people who had difficulty moving evacuate to safer places. In addition to supporting their evacuation, we provide them with hot meals and hygiene kits as well as providing beds and shower facilities to collective centers. We will continue our activities to help those in need, by providing a safe and dignified living environment.
 
This project has been implemented with donations from the Japan Platform.
 

evacuation team help elderly woman walk towards an ambulance

evacuation team assist the woman with a leg injury lie down on a stretcher