Interview with Nemankin, a driver
28/05/2025
“I was very scared, but I was glad that I didn't panic”: the story of Oleksii, a driver with the CF "Angels of Salvation" evacuation team
Before the war, Oleksii was an entrepreneur and owned his own bus. But with the start of the full-scale invasion, the business had to shut down. Fear for their lives, uncertainty, and constant shelling forced many people to leave their homes and look for safer places. That's when Oleksii's relatives first asked him to help them evacuate.
“When my relatives asked me to help them get out, I didn't even hesitate,” he says. "Then my neighbors and acquaintances asked, and then several more families. So I started using my bus to take people to safety."
Oleksii says that during his trips, he repeatedly saw the "Angels of Salvation" team at work. He began to learn more and eventually heard that the organization was looking for drivers for evacuation. He says he didn't think twice, as he already had experience and understood how important this work was.
But, as Oleksii admits, the job of an evacuation driver is much more than just “pick up and drop off.” It's about emotional endurance, the ability to make quick decisions, and how to react in crisis situations. "Sometimes during an evacuation, people are happy to be going to a safer place, but sometimes they cry the whole way. At times like these, it's important to just be there, to calm them down and support them. I don't promise them that everything will be fine or turn out badly — I just talk to them. A simple conversation about the weather or a new city helps them shift their focus from ‘everything is bad’ to something more neutral," says Oleksii.
However, in addition to emotional tension, there are also truly dangerous moments. Oleksii remembers one such moment particularly clearly: "Once, I was helping a woman collect her belongings from a shelter. When we got to the bus, drones were already circling above the square. At that moment, everyone froze in fear. The only thing I could do to save our lives was to point to our bus with the word ‘EVACUATION’ written on it. And the drones flew away. I was very scared, but I was glad that I didn't panic and managed to save people's lives."
“I can say that being an evacuation bus driver is not just about arriving and picking people up. It takes courage, responsibility, and simply human support, because we all need support,” Oleksii concludes.
We thank every driver who, despite everything, chooses to save lives every day.
The evacuation is carried out as part of the Emergency Assistance and Evacuation Support (EASE) project, implemented jointly with the TERA Consortium with financial support from the Humanitarian Fund for Ukraine (UHF). The TERA Consortium was established by the Team4UA Charitable Foundation and includes East SOS as the lead associate partner, and the CO "CF "Angels of Salvation" and the CO "Relief Coordination Center" as consortium members.
Before the war, Oleksii was an entrepreneur and owned his own bus. But with the start of the full-scale invasion, the business had to shut down. Fear for their lives, uncertainty, and constant shelling forced many people to leave their homes and look for safer places. That's when Oleksii's relatives first asked him to help them evacuate.
“When my relatives asked me to help them get out, I didn't even hesitate,” he says. "Then my neighbors and acquaintances asked, and then several more families. So I started using my bus to take people to safety."
Oleksii says that during his trips, he repeatedly saw the "Angels of Salvation" team at work. He began to learn more and eventually heard that the organization was looking for drivers for evacuation. He says he didn't think twice, as he already had experience and understood how important this work was.
But, as Oleksii admits, the job of an evacuation driver is much more than just “pick up and drop off.” It's about emotional endurance, the ability to make quick decisions, and how to react in crisis situations. "Sometimes during an evacuation, people are happy to be going to a safer place, but sometimes they cry the whole way. At times like these, it's important to just be there, to calm them down and support them. I don't promise them that everything will be fine or turn out badly — I just talk to them. A simple conversation about the weather or a new city helps them shift their focus from ‘everything is bad’ to something more neutral," says Oleksii.
However, in addition to emotional tension, there are also truly dangerous moments. Oleksii remembers one such moment particularly clearly: "Once, I was helping a woman collect her belongings from a shelter. When we got to the bus, drones were already circling above the square. At that moment, everyone froze in fear. The only thing I could do to save our lives was to point to our bus with the word ‘EVACUATION’ written on it. And the drones flew away. I was very scared, but I was glad that I didn't panic and managed to save people's lives."
“I can say that being an evacuation bus driver is not just about arriving and picking people up. It takes courage, responsibility, and simply human support, because we all need support,” Oleksii concludes.
We thank every driver who, despite everything, chooses to save lives every day.
The evacuation is carried out as part of the Emergency Assistance and Evacuation Support (EASE) project, implemented jointly with the TERA Consortium with financial support from the Humanitarian Fund for Ukraine (UHF). The TERA Consortium was established by the Team4UA Charitable Foundation and includes East SOS as the lead associate partner, and the CO "CF "Angels of Salvation" and the CO "Relief Coordination Center" as consortium members.
