Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which is now well into its fourth year, is forcing civilians to leave their homes in the Donbas region. Before the full-scale war began, over 60,000 people lived in the city of Kostyantynivka. Now, with the Russian forces less than 10 kilometers away, most have fled.

The closer we get to Kostyantynivka, the fewer intact houses there are. Kostyantynivka itself looks like a ghost town. Along with members of the NGO Proliska's humanitarian mission, we had to evacuate six people from here. Volodymyr and his wife Vera were two of them, who were waiting for us at our first location.

"Three people in our house were wounded. One mother broke her leg, her son was wounded in the stomach. Another woman was wounded in the hand," one man, Volodymyr, told ERR.

The wounded were taken to a hospital in the neighboring town of Druzhivka. Volodymyr and Vera thought about it for a few more days and then decided to leave Kostyantynivka behind.

"There is a lot of bombing and it is very intense. We lived in the basement, which was shaking. Doors and windows were blown in. There is no life here," Volodymyr explained.

It has been a long time since I, along with ERR camera operator Tarmo Aarma have had to run this fast to find safety. This will probably be our last visit to Kostyantynivka. The city is under constant attack and the sky is full of drones.

We need to act fast but another local man – Kostyantyn – who shares his name with this city itself needs more time. In addition to his personal belongings, he also has to take his two cats with him.

"I've lived with these cats my whole life. Me with them, and them with me. For now, we're still alive," says Kostyantyn.

Another local woman, Lyudmila, however, is much more reluctant to leave her home. Her son and grandson have left her no choice.

"For a week, I told her to look at the situation and that we had to leave. She was worried about her belongings but life is more important," said Lyudmila's grandson Oleksii.

"I hope we'll come back. I really hope so. Everything is still in our apartment –  the refrigerator and everything else we need. But there's no water, electricity or gas. How can we live like that?" said Lyudmila.

"We evacuate about 15-16 people a day. The number can be 10 to 20 people every day," said Yevgen Tkachov, head of the Proliska humanitarian center in Donetsk Oblast.

But that's a drop in the ocean. According to the Donetsk Oblast administration, there are still 6,000 people remaining in Kostyantynivka. However, Tkachov believes the actual number is higher.

"Theoretically, there are still 6,000 people who officially receive humanitarian aid. To that, we can easily add 500 to 1,000 men who are subject to mobilization but are afraid to register for fear of being called up," he said.

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