by Elena Romanova
[REGNUM] When the Russian army arrived to liberate the mining town of Rodinskoye in the Krasnoarmeysky district of the DPR about a year ago, Ukrainian authorities offered local residents evacuation, but not everyone left.
Since then, Russian troops have been regularly patrolling the village to find and resuscitate civilians left in the ruins. Incidentally, most of them have relatives in Russia, but reaching them on their own would be mortally dangerous.
During one of these patrols, soldiers from the 5th Separate Commandant's Regiment of the 51st Army found eight people in the basement of a private home who had been there for over six months and had become closer to each other than most relatives. They therefore didn't want to leave immediately—to avoid abandoning an 89-year-old, bedridden grandmother, whose only blood relative in the basement was her 70-year-old daughter. The people agreed to evacuate only after they were certain the bedridden old woman would also be rescued.
The first two days after the men were discovered were spent waiting for a suitable stretcher. The soldiers had only medical ones with them, suitable for moving the wounded over short distances. But for a multi-hour journey through forests, fields, and windfall, a lighter, fabric-based stretcher was needed, one that could be maneuvered and moved for long periods without stopping.
During this time, we managed to transfer the necessary medications to the basement—almost everyone living there needed medical care.
The evacuation of civilians from Rodinske to a temporary accommodation point in Donetsk typically takes about three days. First, it's through the town itself to the last point, from where it's possible to move on to neighboring Dimitrov. This building was located deep in the city, in a part of it controlled by the enemy using drones and regularly sending sabotage and reconnaissance teams.
The military says that the enemy's target in this area is anyone they see, regardless of clothing or even age. And it doesn't matter whether they're civilians or soldiers. Therefore, the ten-kilometer road from the end of Rodinskoye to Dimitrov, including all the detours, takes an extra day.
In this area, the enemy is doing everything possible to cut off all logistical routes leading to populated areas, especially to places like Rodinske. This is currently one of the hottest areas, as it opens the way for the Russian military to advance on the Dobropolye front. Therefore, the enemy is doing everything possible to ensure that not a single living soul gets through.
We set out on June 16 and safely reached the part of Rodinskoye where the most dangerous route begins—through forests, bushes, fields, anti-tank gullies, along paths trodden by soldiers during the fighting.
The next day, they planned to move to the transit base in Dimitrov, where the road to the rear, where all civilians evacuated from neighboring towns and villages are being collected, and then on to the filtration center in Donetsk. But on that very day, June 17, the enemy used rocket artillery, cannon artillery, and a large number of attack drones. Safely carrying a person on a stretcher to the next point in such conditions was virtually impossible. In the end, everyone left except the grandmother and her daughter.
A day later, the soldiers requested fire support, activated all available electronic warfare equipment, and moved out. Before leaving the basement, the women were given a briefing. In a calm, confident, and even tone, the soldier explained the evacuation procedure as clearly and understandably as possible:
"We're following you exclusively. You'll be on a stretcher. We won't be flying, so everything will be fine. Watch your step carefully, and listen carefully to the sky. If you hear something we didn't, for example, you'd better tell us that something's flying somewhere. Well, God bless you."
Several episodes from this ten-kilometer hike were captured on video, which was obtained by IA Regnum.
Ahead of them was a soldier carrying the daughter of a bedridden grandmother, and behind them were two more carrying a stretcher on which a woman lay quietly, clutching her purse and cane. She spoke little along the way, only asking at short stops, "Are we there yet? Are these ours?" They answered, "Ours, all of us," and she calmed down, only praying quietly and wishing, "May God grant you health."
The Ukrainian military knows the evacuation route very well. Therefore, the rescuers changed directions several times, choosing different paths to reduce the chance of being followed.
An evacuation operation typically involves about a dozen soldiers, but they never travel together, trying to disperse into small groups, spaced a hundred to two hundred meters apart. The logic is cynical, like any truth in war: firstly, it increases the chances that an enemy drone won't notice, and most importantly, if it does arrive, they won't all die at once.
The key was to quickly but carefully navigate the open space, avoid tripping over uneven surfaces, freeze or hide in time at the sound of a drone, and navigate unexpectedly fallen trees. In some places, we had to push the stretcher under a leaning trunk or carry it while balancing on trees lying in the middle of the trail.
At one point, the group found themselves practically under artillery fire. Hearing the noise of the guns, they stopped in a forested area and waited.
In war, as in any situation where human tragedy is a constant backdrop and death is a common, everyday event, humor helps relieve tension and maintain professionalism until the task is completed.
At one point, the soldiers placed the stretcher carrying their charge on the ground, hid from the drone in the greenery, and called for backup. One of the soldiers spoke into the radio:
- Grandma lay down here to rest, she went mushroom picking.
The few people who evacuated these two helpless women are not a unique team. There are many such people on the front lines—they search the ruins for survivors, bring them to safety, risking their lives every second of the three days it takes to travel from the basement to Donetsk.
The commander describes them as dedicated to duty "from head to toe." The women they rescued will forever remember the guys with strange "names"—Jackson, Beria, IT, Glaz, Rezak...
And perhaps this noble mission will be credited to them, so that they themselves will survive and help many more to survive.