A voice etched with tension called out across a car park in Ukraine’s eastern Dnipropetrovsk region. "It's going in for a strike!" Seconds later, a low crack echoed through the air.
With the war drawing tangibly closer, RFE/RL's Current Time found residents of four villages in the area increasingly on edge during a recent visit.
As Russian drone strikes hit their communities, people said residents were now more willing to leave their homes for safer environs.
Nonprofit organizations such as Proliska continuously urge locals at risk to accept a van ride to a shelter farther west, after which they can be resettled in a new temporary home.
Still, many people waver, said volunteer Viktoria Silchuk; agreeing at first but then putting off the move –- sometimes with tragic results.
“For example, we have a family of five with a small child who postponed evacuation three times,” Silchuk recalled while on a recent visit to areas under fire. “First, their relatives were injured, and then the girl’s father was killed in an air strike, so they stayed longer to bury him."
It’s common for those who have agreed to evacuate their homes to change their mind at the last minute, she added.
But with recent Russian advances in areas around the city of Pokrovsk to the east, residents of the Dnipropetrovsk region are increasingly worried, they say.
Nearly 50 people signed up for evacuation on one day in August, with more saying they are also willing to go. Demand has risen to the extent that Silchuk has had to move her rescue van from the Kryviy Rih area to villages farther east, such as the hamlet of Pokrovske, which lies 30 kilometers from the front line.
“There are not enough free hands,” Silchuk said. “There is not enough transport. For example, we have been using at least four to five cars from the Pokrovske area for the past week to take people out.”
As if to make her point, during an evacuation on August 30, a Russian drone strike struck the marketplace in the village, injuring at least one man with a shrapnel wound.
The same day, the Ukrainian military reported that Russia had launched sweeping attacks across the country, killing at least one person and injuring dozens while also hitting a Zaporizhzhya apartment building.
During the wave of strikes, the Dnipropetrovsk region in particular was targeted in a “massive attack,” according to a Telegram post by Governor Serhiy Lysak.
“In this area, the situation is changing rapidly,” Silchuk said. “Because of the shelling, many people are gathering their belongings and requesting evacuation.”
One local in a nearby village, Yulia, is staying put for now but acknowledges that danger from air strikes has become routine for her family.
"It's scary," she said. "There are air strikes and explosions. The kids say: 'Mom, Shahed drones are coming, we need to run.' We hide, but we’re not going anywhere just yet."
Another resident of a nearby settlement described a recent fatal Russian drone strike.
"It flew into a neighboring village yesterday and killed a man and a woman," said Zoriana. "They had children. Three girls are now orphans."
The close call was enough to motivate her to evacuate with her son and daughter, accepting a ride in Proliska’s van.
Another local resident further on, Ruslana, could not hold back tears as she explained how life has changed recently in the area.
“Our village was bombed,” she said. “Our school, our stable. The horses burned alive. It was terrifying. We spent the night in the cellar.”
Evacuees who agree to accept help are brought to one of the transit points near the Dnieper River, where they register, get help, rest, and have a meal. Those who have nowhere else to go are allowed to stay -– along with their pets -– for short periods until housing can be arranged or help is found.
In broad daylight, a Russian first-person-view (FPV) drone hit the market during active trading. The marketplace was crowded with shoppers and vendors. People say that they had never seen an FPV drone used directly in this locality before.
