IRPIN, UKRAINE — After weeks of Russian onslaught, the Ukrainian army has finally liberated the Kyiv suburb of Irpin, offering the elderly and disabled a chance to evacuate.
While thousands had already fled Irpin, a town of about 60,000, many didn’t dare leave during the attacks — which resulted in the deaths of a yet unknown number of civilians.
On Sunday and Monday, good Samaritans could be seen helping Irpin residents, many of them elderly and with large bags of belongings, across an intentionally-destroyed bridge to Kyiv — one of the many barriers the Ukrainian army has used to stop the Russians from reaching Kyiv itself.
Although Russia’s defense ministry said Tuesday that it would withdraw forces from around Kyiv and Chernihiv, US and British officials have cast doubt on the claims.
Volunteers could be seen carrying a woman with one leg out on a stretcher past a line of bombed cars.
In a car, another volunteer made room to evacuate a limping dog — one with a collar but no owner in sight.
Ukrainian volunteers helping a disabled woman evacuate on March 27, 2022. Photo credit: Oleksandr Ratushnyak / WhoWhatWhyResidents evacuate crossing the wrecked bridge on March 28, 2022. Photo credit: Oleksandr Ratushnyak / WhoWhatWhyInjured dog in front of a wrecked van on March 28, 2022. Photo credit: Oleksandr Ratushnyak / WhoWhatWhyResidents evacuate crossing a wrecked bridge on March 28, 2022. Photo credit: Oleksandr Ratushnyak / WhoWhatWhyA Ukrainian soldier covers a dog with a blanket in front of a bombed-out store, March 28, 2022. Photo credit: Oleksandr Ratushnyak / WhoWhatWhyResidents evacuating over wreckage on March 28, 2022. Photo credit: Oleksandr Ratushnyak / WhoWhatWhyAn injured dog joins a Ukrainian man evacuating in the backseat of a volunteer’s car on March 28, 2022. Photo credit: Oleksandr Ratushnyak / WhoWhatWhyWith aid from a Ukrainian soldier, an elderly woman evacuates across the wrecked bridge on March 28, 2022. Photo credit: Oleksandr Ratushnyak / WhoWhatWhyVolunteers carry a disabled woman in a stretcher evacuating on March 27, 2022. Photo credit: Oleksandr Ratushnyak / WhoWhatWhy
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