Police officer Vladyslav Jefarov’s car shows numerous traces of gunshots. Recently, a Russian sniper opened fire on him and his colleague Yuri Yaremchuk. The two police officers were heading to Vovchansk to evacuate an elderly woman. They are still alive thanks to an armored vehicle, explains Jefarow, who is also in charge of investigations in the area. However, they did not manage to pick up the woman, he regrets.
Jefarov and Jaremtschuk have been evacuating residents from the north of the Kharkiv region for almost two weeks. This is because, on the night of May 10, the Russian Army resumed its offensive in the border areas of Ukraine and, according to information from kyiv, occupied several towns.
It is dangerous to stay in Vovchansk because there is fighting there, says Jefarov. The Russians are bombarding residential areas with rocket launchers and artillery.
We drive after his vehicle. Just before reaching the city, we have to accelerate as much as possible because, according to Jefarov, the Russians are firing anti-tank guided missiles from there.
First the occupation, then the bombing
Vovchansk, located just ten kilometers from the Russian border, was occupied on the first day of the Russian Army’s full-scale invasion. It was the morning of February 24, 2022.
At that time, it was impossible to evacuate the population, says Vladyslav Jefarov. He and his colleagues had barely managed to get weapons and documents out of the occupied city. However, some colleagues quickly agreed to collaborate with the Russians.
Only after two months did the occupation forces allow the inhabitants of Vovchansk to enter the territory of Ukraine controlled by kyiv.
An escape under fire and drone attacks
The rescued are taken to a village halfway to Kharkiv. Most don’t know how or where to go next. “We spent six days in the basement,” says Daria, from Vovchansk, adding: “There are no houses left on our street. Everything was bombed, everything was on fire. There were unexploded bombs in my garden.”
The Police could not reach the street where Daria lived. Therefore, her family went to the evacuation center on their own. “We fled to the outskirts of Vovchansk, under drone attacks and shelling, passing by a destroyed armored personnel carrier,” Daria says, her voice shaking. She is sad that she couldn’t take her German shepherd. Most evacuees bring their pets with them. A man hides a white kitten under his sweater and a cat meows from his pocket.
“In the first days of the evacuation, people still refused to leave, but then they called and wanted to be picked up,” says police officer Jefarov. The situation in Vovchansk is deteriorating day by day and the Ukrainian Police can no longer go further into the city. For this reason, residents have to travel the kilometers that separate them from the collection point themselves. “People are desperate,” Jefarov confesses.
Missile remains in the street, ducks among the rubble of houses
The next call the Police receive is from a man from the village of Bilyj Kolodjas, south of Vovchansk. The town can only be reached via a bumpy road. But in the end it turns out that the man doesn’t want to be evacuated after all. Vladyslav Jefarov hides his anger and heads to the next house. There he is approached by an older man who also does not want to leave. “We still don’t have much fear here,” he says.
The phone rings again. Two women want to be picked up in the village of Sosnowyj Bir. Their houses were hit by a missile. But the Police are unable to find them at the scene. There are only ducks walking among the ruins of the houses, from which smoke comes out.
The police find the remains of the missile on the street and load them into their vehicle. “That’s also part of our job,” says Jefarov, stressing: “Every bombing is a crime.” “The remains of weapons are material evidence that we can use to prove the guilt of the occupants.”
(gg/ms)
