Civilians arrive in safer areas under Ukrainian army control after days of arduous journey

By Davit Kachkachishvili

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AA) – A large number of civilians who have been internally displaced as a result of the ongoing war in Ukraine are being evacuated from areas controlled by Russian forces and are travelling for days to reach safe facilities secured by the Ukrainian army.

An Anadolu Agency team on Saturday filmed dozens of civilian vehicles arriving at a reception center near Zaporizhzhia in the country's southeastern region, which is partially controlled by Ukrainian forces.

Civilians were evacuated and provided safe corridors only after receiving special authorization from Russian forces.

It takes four to five days for thousands of civilians to reach areas under the control of the Kyiv administration. They travel between 200 and 300 kilometers (124-186 miles) to their destinations.

Russian forces are allowing them to travel into Ukrainian-held territories, but only if they pass time-consuming and stressful checks known as “filtration.”

Ukrainians evacuated from Russian-controlled areas in Kherson, Mariupol, Donbas, and Zaporizhzhia must pass through military checkpoints set up by Russian soldiers in Vasylivka, southern Ukraine.

Civilians continue their arduous journey after passing through strict checks at Vasylivka, the only exit point for people evacuated from Ukraine's eastern and southern regions, to reach the reception center in Ukrainian-controlled Zaporizhzhia.

Natalya, 29, who was evacuated from Berdyansk in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast in a minibus with her two children, told Anadolu Agency that they had been on the road for four days.

Underlining that they had a very difficult journey, Natalya said: "We want to stay in Zaporizhzhia until the war is over.”

People traveling through the Russian military checkpoint in Vasylivka are subjected to inhumane treatment, Natalya added.

At least 5,401 civilians have been killed and 7,466 injured since the Ukrainian war began on Feb. 24, according to UN estimates. The true toll is believed to be much higher.

Nearly 10.6 million people have fled to other countries, while some 7 million have been internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz