Military shows evacuation process from Kupiansk

The 127th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine published a corresponding video, Ukrinform reports.

According to Brigade Commander Oleh Cherkashyn, a battle broke out with the enemy, during which some of the occupiers were eliminated and others withdrew from the building. Ukrainian soldiers entered a five-story building and, in one of the apartments, in the bathroom, found a woman with two children.

"At that time, the building was under heavy enemy fire, and the city was under intense UAV control, with which the enemy conducted reconnaissance and delivered strikes. The building was partially on fire," Cherkashyn said.

To evacuate the civilians, the soldiers themselves had to change into civilian clothes and move without weapons.

"The only possible decision at that time was to take them out disguised as civilians right along the main road. There was no one-hundred-percent guarantee that the enemy would not fire even at the children. I contacted the commander of the assault unit to ensure that, in case of danger, someone would shield the children with their body, and to ask whether such a serviceman existed (who would go on this rescue operation). The commander replied that there was more than one such heroic serviceman; several fighters volunteered for this task," the brigade commander noted.

Soon it turned out that two elderly women were also in the building and needed evacuation. They had to walk six kilometers. The movement of the group was monitored by drones throughout the entire route, and covering groups were assigned.

In two hours, the people passed the most dangerous part of the path and reached the point from which they were picked up by vehicle. The children's mother explained that she had stayed in the city until the last moment because she hoped the situation would improve.

As Ukrinform reported, according to Kharkiv Regional Military Administration head Oleh Syniehubov, over the past two months, children were evacuated from Kupiansk three times.