Locals flee Debaltsevo as separatists close in on Ukrainian stronghold

As rebels attack the eastern Ukrainian railway hub of Debaltsevo, more than 2,000 residents are forced to flee. Photos by Petr Shelomovskiy (Demotix).

A man jumps on a large lorry carrying evacuees fleeing from the increasing battles between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian army at a pickup point in Debaltsevo, Ukraine.

A local man with a his bicycle near Debaltsevo village, east Ukraine. Scared locals flee the town after Russian-backed separatists launched an offensive on the Ukrainian stronghold.

Ukrainian sevicesman seen in the Ukrainian army base near Debaltsevo, Ukraine.

A local man with a his bicycle near Debaltsevo village, east Ukraine. Scared locals flee the town after Russian-backed separatists launched an offensive on the Ukrainian stronghold.

A Ukrainian serviceman, hiding from the intense pro-Russian shelling, smokes in a dugout at the Ukrainian army base near Debaltsevo, Ukraine.

Wired phone at a checkpoint in the Ukrainian army base near Debaltsevo, Ukraine.

A Ukrainian soldier stands guard in front of Ukrainian Army tank in the disputed town of Debaltsevo, Ukraine.

Medics carry a wounded Ukrainian soldier inside Artemovsk hospital, Debaltsevo, Ukraine.

Ukrainian soldiers stand by a map of the Donetsk region discussing the tactical situation around Debaltsevo, Ukraine.

Men from Chernukhino village await to be evacuated from a pickup point in Debaltsevo, Ukraine.

A boy from the Chernukhino village cries as he refuses to be evacuated without his mother at the pickup point in Debaltsevo, Ukraine.

The mother attempts to comfort the boy, even though they’re about to be separated.

The boy waits with other villagers to be evacuated from a pickup point in the disputed town of Debaltsevo, Ukraine.