Ukraine's Bakhmut evacuation: a resident's story

STORY: Bakhmut resident Valentyna knew she had to flee the eastern city of Bakmut after she was knocked to the ground by Russian shelling.

“It is very heavy shelling there, to the extent that I can’t sleep at night. I had to do shopping under shelling.

“I did not think that it (situation in Bakhmut) would go this far. I thought it would not be that terrifying and I could not imagine that the whole city would be destroyed.”

Residents there have described constant Russian bombardment, which has finally forced people to flee, shelter in basements and sleep in the bitter cold.

Bakhmut, with a population of 80,000 people before Russia’s Ukraine invasion in February, has become a symbol of warfare, where enemy positions have rarely budged.

Military experts say Bakhmut appears to be of little strategic value.

But Russian forces have in recent days intensified their attacks.

Valentyna managed to leave her hometown with the help of Leonid, a military chaplain helping to evacuate civilians.

“There are many children, a lot of them there. We have distributed humanitarian aid today. We cannot leave them hungry. Whenever we come to Bakhmut, we evacuate people as well as bring some food.”

However, unlike Valentyna, most people had turned down the offer to escape during his last venture into the city.

The pair drove towards the Ukrainian-controlled Pokrovsk, just over 30 miles from Bakhmut, where they shared an emotional goodbye.

From Pokrovsk, Valentyna plans to travel to the capital Kyiv to join her son.