Death road to Vovchansk: stories of rescuing civilians who did not leave in time
20 June 2024 13:15
ІНТЕРВ'Ю
About 50 people remain in Vovchansk, and street battles are going on around the clock. The occupiers are hunting volunteers’ cars and even passers-by with drones. Volunteer Vyacheslav Ilchenko told Komersant ukrainskyi 
who is left in the city and what it costs to save people.
Vyacheslav, who are the people who refuse to leave the city? What is the situation now?
The most resilient people are left! Those who say: farm, house, tractor, bees, apiary, and so on. The streets of Vovchansk are on fire. The streets are burning en masse because of the shelling. Yesterday I was taking out a family, a woman born in 55, who is 70. She said:
“We are sitting in the cellar and it’s hot. We do not understand why it is so. We come out, and our house is on fire. We did not leave the cellar because the debris was flying everywhere. There was water that we collected a month ago, so we didn’t even wash ourselves, we just wiped ourselves. There is simply no way to get water anywhere. And it is unrealistic to go far. It’s scary ,” an evacuee from Vovchansk
HUNTING FOR VOLUNTEERS: THE OCCUPIERS LAUNCHED 4 DRONES AT THE CAR
The path to salvation. What is it like?
Now there are applications for evacuation of a woman lying down, her husband has no leg, so they cannot walk. They contact me, and I say, “Wait until we can get to you. Just a week ago, four fpv drones hit the car of one of our volunteers.
Are there any casualties?
Fortunately, he is alive, his name is Maxim. But the car was just smashed. And, by the way, it was taken away. Now we are trying to raise some money to restore it and for Maksym to continue his work.
Viacheslav, just to clarify, 4 drones in one car? There are corresponding markings there. Is this how Russians deliberately hunt volunteers?
Yes, of course, there are signs that it is a volunteer. The hunt is for any vehicle, any pedestrian, so you understand who is moving around Vovchansk. They [Russians – ed.] don’t care at all. I understand that they have an unlimited number of drones and they just hit everything that moves.
How can you describe the road the volunteers are travelling? There was a “road of death” in Bakhmut. Is there a similar one in Vovchansk?
Absolutely. It is. I went to Bakhmut until recently and that road is no different from the one in Vovchansk. First of all, you drive at least 120 km/h on this road. Because the FPV drone flies at 80 km/h. The faster you go, the more likely you are to survive.
“We are human beings too. Those who are not afraid of anything, especially death, are idiots. Every time we drive in, usually in one car, I tell my colleagues where the documents and keys are, because there is a chance that I just won’t come back. Of course, everyone is scared,” Vyacheslav Ilchenko
TWO CREWS WITH PEOPLE WERE LOST DURING THE EVACUATION FROM VOVCHANSK.
Vyacheslav Ilchenko:
“We lost two vehicles and four people. These are only volunteers. Not including the police who also helped evacuate.”
Author: Anastasia Fedor
