Zaporizhzhia Residents Flee Homes as Escalating Russian Drone and Missile Attacks Intensify

In Volodymyr’s village, only eight residents remain. He found refuge at a shelter for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia after evacuating his home in Preobrazhenka, Ukraine. “We were in the cellar when they started bombing us with drones,” Volodymyr recounted, his hands red and blistered from burns sustained during a Russian drone attack. He had fled his home, located just over 40km (25 miles) from the regional capital, Zaporizhzhia, after he and his neighbours sought shelter in a basement during the assault. This attack was the catalyst for his evacuation.

The southern villages of Zaporizhzhia have been subjected to increasingly intense Russian attacks. Notably, on November 2, nine Russian glide bombs struck the town of Komyshuvakha in one of the deadliest attacks of the year, resulting in at least 50 fatalities. Many victims were gathered at a local school to receive humanitarian aid, and several individuals remain missing, presumed dead beneath the rubble. The persistent threat of bombs and drones has rendered daily life nearly unbearable.

The nature of modern warfare has shifted, with armies no longer solely relying on ground troops. The appearance of Russian First-Person-View (FPV) drones overhead often signals the gradual advance of Russian infantry. Documented footage reveals these drones deliberately targeting vehicles and civilians in cities such as Kherson, Kramatorsk, and Sloviansk. Typically, elderly residents and those with limited mobility are the last to depart their villages. As the security situation in Zaporizhzhia deteriorates, the relocation of these vulnerable individuals to shelters elsewhere may become necessary.

Zaporizhzhia is now exhibiting similar warning signs. The city administration is implementing protective measures, including the installation of anti-drone netting over streets and civilian infrastructure in the Cosmos neighbourhood. However, the presence of boarded-up windows and bombed-out buildings throughout the city underscores the difficulty in mitigating the threat once drones are deployed.

Denys Knysh, an official from the regional military administration, stated that authorities are preparing to relocate the shelter where Volodymyr is staying to a different neighbourhood should the situation worsen. Many residents in the shelter are elderly or have mobility issues. Some lack the necessary documentation for relocation, complicating their evacuation. Others choose to remain in Zaporizhzhia, close to their former residences, clinging to the hope of the war’s end and their return home.

Since the war's inception, Zaporizhzhia has served as a sanctuary for thousands of internally displaced people fleeing Russian occupation, arriving from cities like Mariupol and Melitopol. Now, with the escalating security concerns, some who initially sought safety in Zaporizhzhia face the possibility of having to leave once more.

Alina, who works in a flower shop situated beneath protective drone netting, expressed her reluctance to leave, despite the daily threat of Russian drones. Along the Pryberezhna Highway, near the river, nearly every petrol station and business is covered with protective netting. “It’s scary and dangerous, everything is flying around. Just today a drone flew over us,” said Nataliia, a petrol station employee. Earlier that day, Russian Banderol missiles struck a shopping mall and the main bridge into the city, while an FPV drone hit a city bus.

Despite the pervasive threat, Zaporizhzhia retains vestiges of normality, with twinkling lights adorning restaurant terraces and some streets still bustling with activity. However, the adaptation to each new threat is a gradual process, marked by streets covered in nets, drone jammers on buses, and bridges bearing the scars of attacks. Knysh indicated that authorities are prepared for city-wide evacuations if necessary, acknowledging the fluidity of the population count due to daily departures.