Evacuation – our path to safety

28-06-2025 · 20 min for reading

Since 2022, the "Way of Ukraine" Charitable Foundation has been saving lives. We evacuate people from frontline, de-occupied and temporarily occupied territories, accompanying them all the way - from danger to stability.

Our evacuation directions

Kharkiv direction (since 2022)

The first direction of our work - and the most dangerous at the start.

In 2022, the Kharkiv region became the epicenter of enemy attacks. Shelling continued daily, many settlements were partially or completely destroyed.

The "Way of Ukraine" Foundation began evacuations during active hostilities, when many people remained cut off from the world. We evacuated people from frontline and liberated communities, provided shelter, humanitarian and medical assistance.

Especially difficult were trips to deep rural areas, where roadlessness and lack of communication complicated every evacuation.

Sumy direction (since 2023)

This direction became a humanitarian corridor for people from deeply occupied territories.

Those who reached the controlled territory from Luhansk, Donetsk, and part of Zaporizhia regions arrived here. Many of them lived for weeks or months without access to water, food, medicine, and means of communication.

We met people on the verge of exhaustion - physical and psychological. It was here that one of the most important stages of our work was established: a transit point where people could eat, shower, receive basic medical care, and simply feel safe for the first time in a long time.

Donetsk direction (from 2024)

The newest and most risky direction of our team's work.

The Donetsk region remains one of the hottest spots in the fighting. We opened this direction, understanding that the need for evacuation there is critical.

Evacuation missions in the Donetsk region require precise planning, coordination with local volunteers, rescuers and medics.

We rescue those who are unable to leave on their own - people with disabilities, lonely elderly people, families with infants.

A full path from danger to stability

We don't just evacuate - we accompany a person at every stage of their journey, helping to overcome the consequences of the war and take the first step towards a new, safe life.

It all starts with evacuation from frontline, deoccupied or temporarily occupied territories. We deliver people to the shelter of the "Shlyakh Ukrainy" Charitable Foundation, located in a safe city. There they can rest, regain strength and receive the necessary first aid.

Then we help with relocation to partner shelters across Ukraine - where there are free places, support, the opportunity to stay longer and begin adaptation.

If a person has a plan or relatives in another region - we organize a trip: we buy tickets, coordinate routes, help with logistics.

A special role in our work is played by the transit point - a place where people can feel humanity again. Here they receive temporary housing, hot food, basic medical care, psychological support and simply a sense of security.

Each person is not just an evacuee. They have gone through a difficult path. And we go through it together with them - from the first call for help to a smile in a new, peaceful home.

Stronger Together: Partners with Whom We Save Lives

We do not work alone. Evacuation from hot spots, provision of shelter, humanitarian and psychological assistance are the result of interaction with reliable partners. Every day, these organizations help us save lives:

ETOC | Volunteer Headquarters

Coordinates humanitarian assistance, logistics and accommodation of evacuees. Ensures cooperation with local communities and shelters throughout Ukraine.

Relief Coordination Centre

Provides operational support during crises - helps with evacuation routes, supplies of essential items and coordination between volunteer organizations.

Ukrainian Red Cross Society

A partner with international experience in the field of humanitarian response. Provides medical assistance, evacuation of seriously ill people, delivery of food, water and hygiene products.

Helping to Leave

Specializes in helping people who want to leave temporarily occupied territories. Provides informational, logistical and psychological support during evacuation.

White Angels

A police task force that works on the edge of combat operations. Helps evacuate people from the most dangerous settlements, often risking their own lives.

Proliska Humanitarian Mission

Provides assistance to civilians in frontline and liberated areas. Provides humanitarian support, psychological assistance, and accompaniment during the evacuation process.

Thanks to each of our partners, we can do more — safer, faster and with care for every person.

Key areas of our work

2022: Pechenizhska Dam — the road of life

In March 2022, during active hostilities in the Kharkiv region, the Pechenizhska Dam became a critically important humanitarian corridor. Through destroyed bridges and roads, it was it that connected the occupied villages of the south-east of the region with relatively safe areas.

Under shelling, without guarantees of safety, people covered a four-kilometer section on foot, rode bicycles, crowded cars, and carried children in their arms. Thanks to the coordinated work of volunteers, local residents, the Security Service of Ukraine, the State Emergency Service, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the Red Cross, more than 16,000 people were evacuated. On some days, up to 1,250 people passed through the dam per day.

In total, more than 25,000 people were evacuated from the Pecheneg Dam and the Kupyansk direction during 2022.

After the evacuation: from support points to permanent services

After the active phase of the evacuation was completed, the Shlyakh Ukrainy Foundation focused on long-term support for the deoccupied territories. In the Kupyanska community, we created 50 aid points, which became points of stability for local residents who were going through the winter without electricity and centralized heating.

In partnership with the Kupyanska OVA, we analyzed the condition of bomb shelters and equipped the most suitable ones:

  • generators,
  • portable heat sources,
  • beds and basic equipment.

Initially, the points were planned as transit centers for evacuation from the Luhansk region, but due to the permanent front line, their function was changed - providing assistance to people who remained in the community.

In 2023, mobile teams of doctors, psychologists and lawyers began working on the basis of these points, who provided over 2,000 consultations. Additionally, a social taxi service was launched, which was used by more than 1,500 people - mostly people with limited mobility, pensioners, families with children.

This experience shows how a quick response and long-term planning allow not only to save, but also to restore life in affected communities.

2023 - 2024: Sumy Corridor - the way home

From May 2023 to August 2024, we actively worked in the Sumy evacuation corridor. People arrived from many occupied territories - exhausted, without access to medicine, water, food. The disaster at the Kakhovka HPP additionally pushed hundreds of families to flee to the controlled territory.

  • Within the framework of the evacuation program:
    • 3,191 people were transported (of which 2,619 were within the project, the rest were on the foundation’s own initiative).
    • Three crews worked daily, including a car for people with limited mobility.
    • A shelter for up to 80 people was organized in the suburbs with heating, a generator, Starlink, hot meals, and psychological support.
    • 2,170 people lived in the shelter.
    • 1,646 tickets were provided for further movement.
    • 250+ psychological and medical consultations were conducted.
    • 2,000 information brochures and 100 posters were issued to navigate people at crossing points.
    • A communication campaign was carried out with branded vehicles.
  • People who crossed the border said they felt that the state and society cared about them. “Lunch, warmth, comfort, peace, thank you” — we have hundreds of such reviews.

2024–2025: The path continues

From August 2, 2024 to May 1, 2025, the team of the “Path of Ukraine” charity evacuated another 4,340 people.

Among them:

  • 2,032 people — from the Donetsk direction
  • 1,158 people — from the Kharkiv region
  • 1,150 people — from the Sumy region

This is a continuation of our previous humanitarian routes:

  • 2022 — Pecheneg Dam: the path of life
  • 2023–2024 — Sumy Corridor: the way home
  • 2024–2025 — The Path ongoing

We don't just take people out of dangerous areas - we guide a person through the entire path from anxiety to peace.

What we provide:

  • evacuation to the shelter of the "Shlyakh Ukrainy" Foundation
  • organization of transit, overnight stay, food
  • medical and psychological assistance
  • support in further resettlement
  • purchase of tickets for further routes

Our goals are support, humanity and moving forward, even when there is darkness around

How the transit point works and what assistance is provided by the Shlyakh Ukrainy Foundation

Working together for the sake of people

At the transit point, assistance to evacuees is provided not only by the Shlyakh Ukrainy Foundation team.

Support is provided by partners, charities, doctors, psychologists, lawyers and volunteers, who work side by side every day to ensure that each person receives full and timely assistance.

Our case managers accompany people from the first day of their stay, but teamwork with other organizations allows us to cover all needs - from medical examinations to legal consultations and psychological support.

This is a place where the efforts of many are combined so that everyone feels that they are not alone.

What is provided at the transit point:

  • Food and drinking water
  • Medical assistance: examination, consultations, medicines
  • Humanitarian aid: clothing, hygiene products
  • Cash support for priority needs
  • Psychological assistance: individual and group sessions
  • Assistance with resettlement: referral to shelters or temporary housing
  • Legal support: consultations, assistance with documents
  • Informational support: next steps, employment, training
  • Assistance for children: children's corners, toys, classes with animators
  • Animal care: food, veterinary consultations

How the transit point works: stages of assistance

  1. Evacuation — we help people leave dangerous regions.
  2. Arrival at the transit point — all evacuees arrive at a safe place where they are met by a team.
  3. Comprehensive care - from the moment of arrival, everyone receives everything they need for life, recovery and planning for the future.
  4. Then there is the path to new stability. We support people until they find permanent housing or a new place to live.
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