"White Angels" have arrived. A family from Donetsk reunited with their rescuers. Watch the video to see their touching meeting.

The special unit of the National Police "White Angels" has been operating in the Donetsk region for over two years. This name is familiar to many Ukrainians. But who came up with it? In 2022, the police evacuated a large family from the shelling. It was these children who named their rescuers "White Angels." Just before the New Year, they met again – for the first time in two years. RBC-Ukraine attended the event and shares how it unfolded.

"Today we must fulfill the dreams of these children"

The "White Angels" have been evacuating civilians, including children, from populated areas for over two years. For many, they have become a last hope for salvation. Thanks to them, more than 10,000 residents of the Donetsk region managed to escape the shelling. This name emerged in 2022 when one of the displaced families referred to the police during an evacuation.

"In 2022, we visited this family, and then our team evacuated them. They were in Maksymilianivka, and the last straw was when the children witnessed another child die from an explosion. They then asked to be evacuated, and our guys took them to Kurakhovo, later organizing their move to Bila Tserkva," says Alexander Gavrilko, Deputy Director and Head of the Media Content Department at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to RBC-Ukraine.

According to Alexander, evacuating from Maryinka was very challenging. There were many civilians there, and they were effectively searching for people underground as many hid in basements. It was very difficult, but their main task was to evacuate everyone so that the military could do their job and protect the city.

Photo: The Ministry of Internal Affairs staff found the family that the "White Angels" evacuated from under the shelling in 2022

In the evacuation efforts, Maryinka became a phenomenon: the police managed to evacuate 100% of the civilian population, including children, from this city before the occupiers completely destroyed it. Unfortunately, they later lost contact with this family.

"We searched for a long time for the family that named our unit 'White Angels.' Initially, everyone thought we made that up. But we did not invent it. Thanks to our leadership and our guys who returned to the Maryinka community, we searched through acquaintances who remained there. Finally, we found them. And today we decided that we must fulfill the dreams of these children," shares Alexander.

The Yakusha family, now living in a modular house in Bila Tserkva, was visited with gifts. Along with the "White Angels," employees from the State Emergency Service and the local police also came to see the children.

The children's father, Serhiy Yakusha, recalls that at one point, one of the kids said, "The White Angels have come to us." The police officers were indeed the ones who came to help at the most difficult moment. Other children quickly adopted this name, and it became the official title of the unit whose mission is to provide assistance and save lives.

"People died in our hands"

Vasyl Pipa had worked for many years as a police officer and then as a criminologist in his hometown of Kurakhovo. The full-scale war forced him to become a paramedic, and he joined the evacuation unit.

He and his partner, along with their leader Rustam, were recently engaged in evacuation in the Maryinka district – Krasnohorivka, Maryinka, the town of Vuhledar, Kurakhovo, and others. Now many of these places have been virtually turned into ruins by the enemy.

The "White Angels" unit was not officially created right away; initially, the police evacuated people as volunteers: everyone had their own jobs, but outside of them, they saved lives.

Photo: Acting Head of the Evacuation Operations Sector "White Angels" Vasyl Pipa

The team is involved in delivering and escorting humanitarian aid and medical supplies, especially to areas where volunteers no longer go. Evacuation crews often come under fire. During the evacuation of one family, a grandmother forgot her cane in the house. The police officer who was part of the group went back for it, and just then, an explosion occurred nearby. He sustained injuries, but everyone managed to escape.

Simultaneously with the evacuations, they also perform police functions in areas where combat operations are taking place or near combat zones.

"Maryinka is a suburb of Donetsk, and one of the streets practically leads into the city of Donetsk. Krasnohorivka is also a suburb of Donetsk. The police have been serving there daily since 2014. We understood that people needed our help. It turned out that apart from the police, there was no one left to assist these people. And we were all ready to serve," Vasyl recounts.

Photo: Evacuation team member, inspector of the special purpose battalion (infantry) Rustam Lukomski

In 2022, they used a regular ambulance for evacuations. Humanitarian aid was delivered in this vehicle, and on the return trip, they picked up people.

"We had no right to force people to leave. Therefore, we were always nearby; people often saw Rustam and already knew he was one of their own. Rustam is from Maryinka, and everyone there knows him. He constantly went there, knowing that there were children. They would go in, talk, and provide assistance. At that time, the Red Cross provided residents of Maryinka with milk, freshly baked bread, and cheese," Vasyl recalls the early days of the full-scale war.

He considers the loss of life the most unjust aspect of the war.

"People died in our hands. Volunteers died in our hands. We have no moral right to risk the lives of selfless individuals who come to help others. We lost Tigran Galustyan (a well-known volunteer from Kharkiv. An enemy drone hit his vehicle - ed.) This is a tragedy for the country when people die who seek no gain but only wish to help," he recalls sadly.

Vasyl, like other members of the evacuation unit, was very happy to see the family. He says that the unit works precisely for this purpose – to save lives, give people hope, and ensure they are at least in relative safety. After meeting with the children and their parents, the team headed back to the Donetsk region: many more Ukrainian families are waiting for evacuation there.