98-Year-Old Defies War: Escape From Ukraine Frontline
An elderly woman, 98 years old, managed to flee on foot from the occupied town of Ocheretyne in the Donetsk region.
This is a hotspot on the front line, where some of the most intense fighting is taking place. After a gruelling day of hardship, she finally reached Ukrainian-controlled territory.
Fleeing heavy shelling, the woman undertook a perilous journey of about 10 kilometres. Determined not to remain under occupation, she crossed the front line despite the dangers.
"Everything there is destroyed. It's awful what's going on," the woman said.
Lidia Stepanovna, as the woman is identified, recounted leaving the village with her son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. The shelling forced them to separate. "We were woken up by the gunfire, it was terrifying. We had to leave. My son and daughter-in-law came too; all three of us fled," she recounted.
The woman walked for a full day without food or water. Exhausted, she fell several times and eventually succumbed to sleep. Ukrainian soldiers discovered her late in the evening as she walked along the road. They brought her to a shelter operated by the "White Angel" police group.
There, the woman revealed that her village had suffered devastation far worse than during World War II. "I survived that war, and I'm surviving this one too. I have nothing left. But that war wasn't like this. I saw that war; no houses were burned then. Now they're burning everything," she said.
The shelling destroyed the house that Lidia Stepanovna had built herself. Her relatives were also injured during the attacks. Despite the ordeal she endured under fire from the invaders, the woman remarkably said she was feeling okay. In the shelter, she received medical attention and basic necessities. Police later located her family and reunited them.
This incident is not an isolated one. Another resident, an 88-year-old man from Ocheretyne, fled the village on foot after Russian troops seized his Ukrainian passport. He walked through the night under shelling until volunteers found him the next morning. He is currently receiving assistance in Dnipro.
Russian troops gained control of Ocheretyne a week ago. They have since captured the nearby settlements of Soloviove and Novokalinove and are pushing westward.
The Ukrainian military maintains control over two-thirds of Ocheretyne, but fierce fighting continues. After capturing Avdiivka in February due to a strategic withdrawal by Ukrainian forces, Russia has seen limited advances since then. Military experts consider Ocheretyne to be the most critical point along the Avdiivka front. If Russia captures the village, they could potentially open a path to Toretsk and Pokrovsk. Russia is currently attempting to exploit its advantages in troop numbers and artillery before Ukraine receives critical military supplies.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
