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Transcript/ScriptUkraine Donbas Evacuations – Kosstutschenko
HEADLINE: Donbas Residents Flee to Western Ukraine
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: 03/19/2023 at 2:32 pm
BYLINE: Anna Kosstutschenko
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Donetsk Region, Ukraine
VIDEOGRAPHER: Pavel Suhodolskiy
VIDEO EDITOR: Pavel Suhodolskiy
SCRIPT EDITORS: KEnochs; MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, Story Hunter
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:39
VID APPROVED BY: KE
EDITOR NOTES:
((INTRO))
[[Life for the residents of the Bakhmut region of Ukraine includes daily shelling by
Russian forces. Anna Kosstutschenko reports on a group of volunteers helping to
evacuate residents who have decided it’s time to go.]]
((NARRATION))
Shelling for hours on end – this is how residents of Chasiv Yar live. The town is just
over 10 kilometers west of Bakhmut, the site of fierce fighting between Russian and
Ukrainian forces. Before Russia’s invasion, some 14,000 people lived here; today, only
a couple of thousand remain.
Natilya is here waiting for her pension.
((NATS))
((Nataliya, Chasiv Yar Resident)) ((UKR))
“It was not too bad, but now there is no firewood left, so I don’t know what to do. We are
thinking of leaving...”
((NARRATION))
In the city of Kramatorsk, also west of Bakhmut, things are better. There is electricity,
communication and stores are open. But there is shelling here too.
((Lilia, Kramatorsk Resident)) ((UKR))
“Last night, we were shelled six times at 3am and twice at 4 am.”
((NARRATION))
Bus routes from Kramatorsk to western Ukraine have been set up by local volunteers
with the charity group, “Angels of Salvation.” Eight other non-profits are also helping to
evacuate locals, with the help of donations from around the world, says volunteer
Yevgen Pavenko.
((Yevgen Pavenko, Volunteer)) ((UKR))
“It is fantastic – money comes from everywhere; I received donations from my relatives
in the United States as well. We use this money to buy phones and shoes for asylum
seekers, use it to buy food for them as well.”
((NARRATION))
Pavenko’s cousin Alina Pavenko-Kirichenko moved to the U.S.
((Stills Courtesy: lina Pavenko-Kirichenko))
with her parents when she was 8. When Russia invaded Ukraine, she started raising
money and collecting donations for residents of Kramatorsk. ((End courtesy))
((Alina Pavenko-Kirichenko, Volunteer)) ((Zoom)) ((UKR))
“The family in the US kept saying, ‘You guys need to leave!’, and they said, ‘No, we are
not going anywhere!’ // So, we thought OK, they want to stay and help others, but they
do need help from us!”
((NARRATION))
Anna came Kramatorsk with the hope that she and her children would be evacuated.
The mother is from the town of Druzhkivka, some 35 kilometers from Bakhmut.
((Anna, Druzhkivka Resident))
“It is no longer safe in town, every day it’s getting scarier. Our house was slightly
damaged by rockets. It's cold, we don't have gas, and have to cook on open fire.”
((NARRATION))
A bus set up by volunteers will take all these evacuees from Kramatorsk and
surrounding towns to Dnipro and Kyiv, where they hope to find shelter and a more
secure life.
((Anna Kosstutschenko for VOA news Donetsk region Ukraine)
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Donetsk Region, Ukraine
Embargo DateMarch 19, 2023 14:38 EDT
Byline
((Anna Kosstutschenko for VOA news Donetsk region Ukraine))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
