'The money is gone': Evacuated Ukrainians are forced to return

Lack of money, homesickness and uncertainty are driving evacuees back to Donetsk and the dangers of being at the frontline of the war

Family and friends of 35-year-old Anna Protsenko, who was killed in a Russian rocket attack, walk to a cemetery for her burial, during her funeral procession, on the outskirts of Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine, last week. Picture: AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty

The missile’s impact flung the young woman against the fence so hard it splintered. Her mother found her dying on the bench beneath the pear tree where she’d enjoyed the afternoon. By the time her father arrived, she was gone.

Anna Protsenko was killed two days after returning home. The 35-year-old had done what authorities wanted: She evacuated eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region as Russian forces move closer. But starting a new life elsewhere had been uncomfortable and expensive.