An 84-year-old resident of Kherson walked almost 6 km to reach a safer area after deciding to evacuate the city, according to the Kherson City Military Administration. Vasyl Zaichenko had spent nearly six months living in near-total isolation amid Russian attacks, relying on humanitarian supplies brought to him by drones.
Zaichenko had called Kherson home for 60 years. He and his wife built their family house there and tended the land around it, planting an orchard and growing flowers. Despite the attacks and the departure of others, he had initially decided to remain in the city.
Describing the conditions before his evacuation, Zaichenko said the attacks had intensified and there was no heating. He recalled winter temperatures of around 8°C and said he had stayed after everyone else was evacuated. Alongside the humanitarian aid delivered by drones during his isolation, he described surviving on produce from his garden.
Once he made the decision to leave, Zaichenko had to travel on foot to get somewhere safer. The journey of roughly 6 km took him an hour and a half. He brought just two items with him: a torch and a charger for his phone.
Volunteers met Zaichenko after the walk. His daughter and grandson then collected him from a transit centre, and he will now stay with his family in Nikopol, in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. He is due to turn 85 on 22 November. His greatest wish, he said, is for victory and the chance to return to his home.
The city military administration used his experience to renew its appeal for residents of dangerous parts of Kherson to evacuate promptly. It stressed the importance of leaving while evacuation remains possible and urged people to avoid delaying their departure.
A previous evacuation on foot involved Lidiia Stepanivna, who was 98 when she walked 10 km from a partially occupied village in Donetsk Oblast in April 2024. She reached Ukrainian-controlled territory and subsequently received a new identity document and assistance finding another home.
Stepanivna had worked as a train attendant for 40 years. Ukrainian Railways later gave her an honorary train manager certificate for a service that had once passed through her home village. She died in October 2025.
