Ukraine’s frontline city empties as Russia advances to within 20 kilometres

When authorities ordered families and children to leave parts of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, 34-year-old mother of two, Angela Bolonz, was shocked.

Kramatorsk, located in the Donetsk region, has long symbolized Ukrainian resistance. The city fought off pro-Russian separatists in 2014 and has resisted Russian forces since the 2022 invasion.

Now, with Russian troops only about 20 kilometers away and launching frequent drone attacks, residents like Angela are facing the painful reality that their home may no longer be safe.

“When the evacuation was announced, people started leaving,” Angela said quietly, standing beside her packed bags.

Russia now controls nearly 80 percent of the Donetsk region and has been slowly advancing toward Kramatorsk for months, hoping to capture it.

Angela decided to leave with her two daughters, aged five and ten, after drones began flying near their home, setting cars on fire. On October 5, a drone using an optical fiber guide struck a car in the city center — the first such attack in Kramatorsk.

While the city center remained relatively calm, fear was growing on the outskirts.

On the road to nearby Druzhkivka, about ten kilometers south, cars drove quickly under anti-drone netting. Soldiers worked to repair an armored vehicle damaged by a drone strike.

Rising Drone Warfare

At a local medical center for wounded soldiers, doctors were struggling to keep up. One injured man cracked jokes to hide his pain as a doctor removed shrapnel from his wound.

Another soldier, Yuriy, smiled weakly as he said, “We were returning from our position when a drone hit us. It’s hard — very hard.”

A 34-year-old doctor named Sergiy explained that most injuries now come from FPV (first-person-view) drones. “One soldier’s leg wound was so bad it completely decayed,” he said while smoking a cigarette.

Because drones can now fly farther, the front line has turned into what some call the “lethal zone” — a 20-kilometer-wide area where danger is constant.

Russia has increased its drone attacks ahead of winter, before cold weather makes drone batteries less effective.

According to one Ukrainian soldier, troop movements have become more dangerous than staying in battle. Soldiers now travel only on foot, in short segments, and wear special coverings to hide from drones’ heat cameras.

Russian saboteurs, sometimes disguised as Ukrainian soldiers or civilians, have also planted traps beyond the front line