STORY: Ukrainian police and volunteers evacuated residents from the frontline villages of Tavriiske and Yurkivka in the Zaporizhzhia region on Tuesday (February 3), as the security situation worsened due to advancing Russian troops.

Officers said 20 people were taken out, including a family with five children and several elderly residents.

The villages have come under intensified attack involving guided aerial bombs, multiple rocket launch systems, and the growing use of fibre-optic FPV drones, which are harder to disrupt with radio jamming.

Police officer Dmytro Besedin showed a fibre-optic cable he said had been used to control an enemy drone, adding that "If you see it, break the fibre, and then there is no connection".

One evacuee, Maryna Vyshnevska, a mother of five, said her family decided to leave after shelling destroyed three houses nearby and because she fears for her children’s safety.

Officials said that despite the dangers, some elderly residents remain in Tavriiske and Yurkivka.

The village of Tavriiske lies about 14 kilometers from the so-called "grey zone" separating Ukrainian and Russian-held positions.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VIDEO SHOWS: OFFICERS OF NATIONAL POLICE OF UKRAINE WITH VOLUNTEERS EVACUATING RESIDENTS OF TAVRIISKE COMMUNITY IN ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION / EVACUEES, POLICEMEN AND VOLUNTEER COMMENTING

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: TAVRIISKE, ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, UKRAINE (FEBRUARY 3, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF EVACUATION CAR DRIVING (SHOT FROM CABIN)

2. ADULTS AND CHILDREN WITH BAGS WALKING OUT OF YARD

3. BOY STANDING NEAR GATE

4. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) MOTHER OF FIVE CHILDREN, EVACUEE FROM VILLAGE OF TAVRIISKE, 35, MARYNA VYSHNEVSKA, SAYING:

“After all these shellings, when three houses in our village were destroyed, it became very frightening, and we decided to leave. First of all, it’s about protecting the children, making sure they have normal living conditions. That’s what we are afraid of.”

5. VARIOUS OF ELDERLY WOMAN WALKING OUT WITH HELP OF POLICEMAN

6. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) MOTHER OF FIVE CHILDREN, EVACUEE FROM VILLAGE OF TAVRIISKE, 35, MARYNA VYSHNEVSKA, SAYING:

“We thought everything would get better. We thought they (Russian forces) would be driven back and all this would stop. But when we realised it would only get worse and worse, it was better to leave, altogether.”

7. WOMAN WITH CHILD STEPPING INSIDE VEHICLE AND POLICEMEN AND VOLUNTEER STANDING

8. EVACUATION CAR DRIVING (SHOT FROM CABIN)

9. POLICEMAN WALKING AND SAYING (Russian):

“Fibre-optic cable. There’s a ‘sleeper drone’ somewhere. They’ve already torn it. Get into the car, sit down.” / ANOTHER POLICEMAN RUNNING

10. POLICEMAN STANDING

11. PEOPLE GETTING INTO VAN

12. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) POLICE OFFICER, DMYTRO BESEDIN, SAYING (first words over his hand showing fibre-optic cable) :

“This is a fibre-optic cable. It’s the connection to an enemy drone. The operator is sitting at a distance beyond the range where an FPV drone can be controlled by radio. He controls it using this fibre. If you see it, break the fibre, and then there is no connection.”

YURKIVKA, ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, UKRAINE (FEBRUARY 3, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

13. VARIOUS OF POLICEMEN CARRYING BAGS AND WALKING TO CAR

14. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) HEAD OF THE JUVENILE PREVENTION SECTOR OF THE ZAPORIZHZHIA DISTRICT POLICE DEPARTMENT, YEVHEN TOKAREV, SAYING:

“Almost no families with children remain. In most cases, those still here are elderly people.”

15. POLICEMAN STANDING NEAR POLICE CAR

16. EVACUEE FROM THE VILLAGE OF YURKIVKA, 66, NATALIIA FEDORENKO CRYING

17. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE CARRYING BAGS AND PUTTING THEM INTO CAR

18. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) EVACUEE FROM THE VILLAGE OF YURKIVKA, 66, NATALIIA FEDORENKO, SAYING:

“It’s scary. Nobody wants to die. I know I don’t have much time left, but this kind of death…”

19. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AND POLICEMEN CARRYING ELDERLY WOMAN WITH A BLANKET AND PUTTING HER INTO CAR

20. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) VOLUNTEER, 51, VLAD MAKHOVSKYI, SAYING:

“If you compare it to a month ago, back then it was fairly easy to get in and out here, buses were still running. Now a month has passed, and every day, every week, we see more destruction and greater risk of entering towns like these.”

21. CARS STANDING ON ROAD