As the Russian army continues to advance, residents of the eastern Ukrainian city of Dobropillia are being forced to leave their homes. Once a peaceful and hardworking mining town, Dobropillia is now under threat of war.
Among those being evacuated is a woman named Liubov. Wiping her tears on the bus, she says:
“It's hard to live in one place and then leave it. But what can I do? Nothing.”
At the beginning of 2024, the frontline was 50 kilometers from Dobropillia, but today that distance has shrunk to just 15 kilometers. This proximity has made the city a target for kamikaze drones and heavy bombs. On July 16, a half-ton Russian bomb dropped on the city’s main shopping center killed two people and injured more than 20.
According to Denys Naumov, a representative of the local aid organization “Proliska,” the situation has sharply worsened in the past two weeks.
“Lately, explosions are even heard during the evacuation process,” he said. According to him, more than 1,250 people have been evacuated from the city in the past two weeks.
Political statements from the international community are not giving locals much hope. Although U.S. President Donald Trump said he would increase economic pressure on Russia, Liubov doesn’t believe it:
“I don’t trust anyone, I don’t want to hear anything,” she says, shaking her head.
For now, the situation in Dobropillia continues to deteriorate steadily. Efforts to relocate residents, especially children, the elderly, and the disabled, to safer areas are ongoing.
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