Even under shelling, some people refuse to leave their homes — and this is precisely the most difficult part of the job for those who evacuate residents from the frontline. Alongside this reluctance to leave, there is another aspect of evacuation: people who are unable to leave on their own. Transporting such a person rarely goes as one might imagine — it is not just a single vehicle and a single driver, but the coordinated work of a team, where every step is planned in advance, from the condition of the individual to the width of the stairwell. In the podcast “Temporarily.Forever”, Oleksandr Lavreniuk, head of the Rapid Response Unit at the Ukrainian Red Cross Emergency Response Service, spoke about why people stay where they are and how the evacuation of people with reduced mobility is organised.
“I was born here, and I’ll die here“
The hardest part of the work begins when a person refuses to leave. After four years of intensive work with such people, the volunteers have come to a simple conclusion: there is almost always just one reason — it is a personal choice, and at its core lies fear. People do not know what will happen next, are unsure whether they will be helped, and are afraid of losing their familiar surroundings, even whilst under shelling. As long as a shell has hit a neighbouring house rather than their own, some residents convince themselves that the danger has not yet reached them.
One such incident took place in Lysychansk in 2022, where volunteers were delivering humanitarian aid. In the courtyard of a partially destroyed high-rise block, where two craters remained from the strikes, people began to emerge from the basement as the cars approached — among them were four or five children, the youngest just a few months old. The crew offered to take everyone away straight away, whilst the offensive was still underway and some of the bridges across the Siverskyi Donets had been destroyed. The response was cautious — a little later, we’ll wait a bit longer.
The argument ‘I was born here, and I’ll die here’ is perhaps the one heard most often. Volunteers respond to it matter-of-factly: there’s always time to die, so it’s wiser to leave for a safer area, wait it out, and then return home calmly to carry out whatever plans one had made. Sometimes it takes several days and several return visits to persuade someone. Sometimes time itself does the trick: people see their neighbours being evacuated, endure yet another round of shelling — and within a week are ready to leave themselves.
Children being buried and evacuation ordered by the police
Children are a separate and painful issue. Most responsible families agree to be evacuated, but there are cases where people use their children as an excuse or hide them, refusing to leave. Oleksandr recalls a situation where they visited one house several times, spoke to the parents and saw in the child’s eyes a desire to leave. The information was passed on to social services and the police; the police visited on several occasions, but the parents refused to agree. In the end, the story had a happy ending — the family did manage to leave, even though it took more than a week.
It is important to distinguish between two processes here. The UCH Rapid Response Team does not carry out forced evacuations — this is the exclusive remit of the National Police, which involves relevant agencies and a social worker, and is carried out in accordance with a defined procedure. Volunteers may only assist with this at the official request of the police or local authorities. The unit’s own work, however, consists of planned, voluntary evacuations, where people approach the unit themselves or via local authorities and the police.
A request for evacuation can sometimes arise unexpectedly. A person might come across a representative of the service in an ordinary shop, recognise the Red Cross emblem and immediately ask whether people are being evacuated. Someone who hadn’t even thought about leaving that morning may well decide by the evening: ‘I’m leaving.’
Read also:
Why IDPs in Ukraine face varying prospects for long-term solutions
When a child goes away with their grandmother
The voluntary nature of the evacuation also determines how children are taken away with their relatives. If the parents themselves hand over their child to a grandparent, the crew will take them away. The reverse scenario is not possible — the team cannot come and take a child against the wishes of their relatives.
No additional documents are usually required for this: the parents’ decision alone is sufficient. However, if full representation of the child’s interests is required, guardianship is arranged separately — through the child protection service — after which an official guardian accompanies the child.
Leaving without documents
Lost or burnt documents do not prevent evacuation. People are asked to at least show any documents they have for internal record-keeping purposes, but not having a passport does not prevent them from leaving. Everyone being evacuated undergoes screening and registration at the assembly point, as responsibility for the evacuation of the local population lies with the local authorities.
People with reduced mobility and the wounded who are being taken to hospitals are registered automatically by medical facilities. The rest are registered at a collection point, from where the information is forwarded to the relevant authorities. Documents are subsequently reissued via the same channels that were in place at the start of the full-scale invasion — through the Centres for Administrative Services, local authorities and state bodies.
Read also:
3.9 million internally displaced people: what is happening to Ukrainian refugees within the country
Documents, money and an iron
When asked what to take with you, Oleksandr gave a brief answer. First and foremost are your documents. Second is money, if you have any, as it won’t go amiss. Third are essentials, and this is where the list becomes very personal. For some, it’s a toothbrush and toothpaste; for others, it’s underwear; and some even try to take an iron with them.
Four people on one sledge and a descent down the walls
The planned evacuation of a person with reduced mobility begins long before the crew enters the building. Volunteers assess in advance the condition of the person to be evacuated: whether they are able to sit or are lying down, and what care they will need during the journey. This determines both the number of people in the crew and the method of transport itself.
Under normal circumstances, at least four people are needed to carry someone out in a wheelchair and transport them comfortably. But the reality of life in buildings near the front line often dictates its own rules. One telling example occurred in a suburb of Sloviansk, where a person was being evacuated from the fourth or fifth floor. The corridors turned out to be so narrow that four people simply could not fit through. Two people had to carry the person out — carefully, step by step, one at the front and the other at the back, practically pressed up against the walls.
All volunteers and members of the rapid response teams have completed first-aid training courses, but have gained most of their experience through hands-on practice. Consequently, they sometimes have to deviate slightly from standard operating procedures — not out of negligence, but because of the circumstances in which the team finds itself.
Read also:
How Ukraine Fights for the Return and Rehabilitation of Civilian Prisoners
Where do the squad’s powers end?
There is a clear limit to what volunteers can do, and that limit lies where medical care begins. The ZSHR operates within the rules governing the provision of first aid, so it is not authorised to carry out invasive procedures. Volunteers can stabilise a person and support their vital signs, but they cannot administer medication or give injections.
If a person requires constant medical supervision, the crew is able to assist the doctor, at his request, in a support role; however, they cannot replace the doctor. This is a fundamental difference between evacuation and medical transport, and the unit makes this distinction very clear.
How interaction with the authorities is organised
Evacuation from the front line is impossible without constant communication between the various services, and over the years of the war, this communication has, for the most part, already been established. In each region, it operates at its own level, mainly through a coordination centre or a working chat group, where the various agencies coordinate current issues and communicate with one another promptly.
Where no such channel exists, matters are resolved through official correspondence — particularly when it comes to a pre-planned, organised evacuation. The closer to the front line, the closer the coordination and the more frequently information is exchanged between the police, the State Emergency Service and the local authorities.
Read also:
Evacuation from the front-line zone – where to turn and why not to delay
What lies in store for a person after they leave
The journey does not end at the reception centre — that is where it all begins. People are met by staff from social services and local authorities, who register them and assess their needs: whether they have somewhere to go on their own, whether they have relatives in safer regions, and whether their pension payments have been arranged, which will need to be adjusted to reflect their new status as internally displaced persons.
Initially, support comes from government bodies, charitable foundations and humanitarian organisations alike. Yet Oleksandr speaks frankly about the limits of this support: it is temporary. It is important for people to realise that, sooner or later, responsibility for their own lives falls back on them, because there are cases where people spend years going from organisation to organisation asking for handouts, without doing anything themselves.
For those who find themselves facing old age, loneliness or limited mobility on their own, there is another option. The state takes these people under its wing — depending on their needs, they are placed in care homes, residential care facilities or geriatric care centres, where they receive care and remain either temporarily or permanently.
Where is the person going next?
ZSHR does not provide financial or humanitarian aid directly at the collection point — this falls within the remit of regional organisations and specific support programmes for internally displaced persons. However, volunteers can assist with the onward journey if a person submits a request. Mobile and independent individuals are advised and assisted in reaching their destination by train or bus; if necessary, they are accompanied whilst boarding.
The unit’s main specialism lies elsewhere — it focuses on people who are unable to move unaided. It is these people who are most often transported between regions, cities and areas; the unit collects bedridden patients and transports them between medical facilities. A separate and ongoing part of their work involves military personnel: they transport soldiers to and from rehabilitation centres, as well as from frontline hospitals to the interior of the country.
Read also:
How to Get Financial Assistance from the Red Cross in 2026
