Pokrovsk – In Ukraine, as the frontline approaches, a mandatory evacuation has been declared in Pokrovsk, in Donetsk oblast (region) and the surrounding towns and villages, including Selydove, Myrnohrad, and Novohrodivka, effective from 20 August. The evacuation applies to children, families with children, elderly people, and people with reduced mobility, as active hostilities are now occurring less than 10 kilometres from the city. Volunteers, rescuers, authorities are all involved in the evacuation efforts. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is providing medical assistance.

According to local officials, more than 59,000 people reside in Pokrovsk district. They have been urged to take only their most essential possessions and leave their homes. The majority are fleeing the war by train, with carriages fully occupied. Entire families, often accompanied by their pets, are boarding these evacuation trains.

“I left everything behind. It’s a nightmare,” says Raisa Epshtein, a resident of Myrnohrad who recently suffered a stroke. “At night, we trembled and flinched with every explosion. Everything is closed: the market, shops, and pharmacies—they’ve been shut for a long time.”

“It’s terrifying; everyone is on edge,” says Epshtein. “My hometown is being destroyed, with houses and lives lost right before my eyes.”

MSF is providing medical consultations to evacuees at the railway platform in Pokrovsk and is on duty at train stops.

“There are passengers with various chronic conditions, which can worsen under severe stress,” says Olha Tatsenko, an MSF paramedic. “People are experiencing headaches, high blood pressure, and emotional overload.”

“No one knows what the future holds,” Tatsenko continues. “After an examination, one woman was hospitalised. She had extremely low blood pressure and needs further tests at a hospital, including a cardiogram and ultrasound, to determine the cause.”

The evacuation trains are stopping in Dnipro, the nearest major city from the frontline. Some evacuees are heading to relatives in safer regions, while others are seeking refuge in shelters for internally displaced people in the western part of the country.

“MSF will continue to operate in Pokrovsk as long as security conditions permit,” says Gianpietro Campedelli, MSF project coordinator in Ukraine. “Our ambulances are assisting with medical evacuations and transporting patients between medical facilities to help relieve the pressure on them. Our medical team is also supporting the last civilian hospital still functioning in the area, in the emergency room and intensive care unit departments.”