Hundreds of Ukrainian civilians have been evacuated from Velyka Pysarivka, a small town 7 kilometers from the Russian border, amid a reported massive increase in Russian shelling.
Ukrainians Evacuate Border Town Amid Intense Russian Shelling
A woman is comforted as she is evacuated from her home in Velyka Pysarivka in the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine on March 18. The authorities are racing to remove people from their homes in the town, which is 7 kilometers from the Russian border.
Hundreds of people have been evacuated from the town's shattered landscape amid weeks of intense shelling.
Ukrainian military authorities said Russia had fired more than 800 artillery rounds at Sumy in recent days -- half of what it fired at the region last year.
The town library was among the buildings devastated by the shelling.
A library book shows the scars of war.
Local police went house to house to evacuate people from homes that have been without electricity, gas, stable communications, or running water.
Oleksiy Bryl, a local police officer, coordinates the evacuation of residents.
An resident waits to be evacuated from his home.
A bus carries 24 residents who consented to the evacuation away from their homes and their community.
Local residents wait during a lull in shelling to be evacuated.