In ruined Ukrainian cities, residents have tried to cling to hope but eventually they leave
Tetiana Zaichikova, center, walks on a platform during evacuation at the train station in Lozova, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
KOSTIANTYNIVKA, Ukraine (AP) — For many residents of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, evacuation begins with one defining blast — the explosion that makes it impossible to stay. For 69-year-old Tetiana Zaichikova, it came when a strike reduced her home to rubble.
The region has been the epicenter of heavy fighting for years and evacuations there have continued as long as Russia’s invasion — more than three years. Town after town in the region, larger than Slovenia or roughly the size of Massachusetts, is emptying amid the fighting as Russian forces now control around 70% of the area.
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