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00:00In a village near Pokrovsk in the Donbas, the moment has come for Irina and her mother
00:06to flee their home.
00:09The front line is moving ever closer as Russian troops advance.
00:13They have to leave before it's too late.
00:18She's 86.
00:19She's already had a heart attack and a stroke.
00:22We tried to evacuate once, but then her blood pressure rose so high, we had to cancel.
00:27It's not easy for her to move.
00:35Why am I leaving?
00:40I'm afraid.
00:41I don't want to die here under the rubble of this house.
00:50It's a shock for the locals of this region once deep behind the front lines.
00:55They've watched as towns like Bakhmut and Avdiivka have been flattened.
01:01We can never come back.
01:02There'll be nothing left.
01:03The house won't be standing.
01:09Volunteers from the Ukrainian charity SOS East have been getting people out of danger
01:14zones since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
01:26The elderly and vulnerable are often the last to leave.
01:35Even with all the experience we have and all the training we've done, seeing the physical
01:39and emotional condition of the people is still the hardest part.
01:44Pokrovsk is an important logistics hub.
01:50Ukraine relies on its rail and road links to supply its troops and remaining cities
01:54in the east.
01:58Russia is pushing hard to take this town and has advanced 30 kilometres in this direction
02:04since February.
02:05A month and a half ago, this town was bustling, its restaurants, hotels and cafes were full.
02:14But now, well, it's basically deserted and you can hear the thud of artillery.
02:20The front line has moved much closer, very fast.
02:25Nearly three quarters of Pokrovsk pre-war population of 60,000 people have left.
02:31Authorities ordered a mass evacuation.
02:36But some locals remain, unwilling to leave their jobs or a lifetime of memories behind.
02:47This is my land here.
02:49My children are buried here.
02:52Where can I find a better place?
02:54There's shelling everywhere and the rent will be very high.
02:58I don't plan to leave.
03:06After they took Avdiivka, they advanced so fast.
03:11It took them only six months.
03:12I never expected that they would advance so fast.
03:16The Ukrainian army is fortifying the outskirts of Pokrovsk and has deployed extra brigades
03:22to the battle to defend this vulnerable and vital point on its eastern front line.