Ukrainian families divided as some flee fierce fighting in east

With the war grinding towards its second anniversary, millions of Ukrainians have already fled for safety, and many others who have endured the dangers of artillery fire and snipers are still being evacuated.

Olha Skachkova and her son, 11-year-old Denys, climbed out of an armoured van which had just whisked them out of their home town of Toretsk, close to the front lines where Ukrainian and Russian forces are fighting fierce battles.

With the war grinding towards its second anniversary, millions of Ukrainians have already fled for safety, and many others who have endured the dangers of artillery fire and snipers are still being evacuated.

For Skachkova, the final straw was her son telling her that he was frightened by the constant shelling nearby.

"My child started to feel very scared ... it was frightening," she said at a shelter in Kostiantynivka, a city in the Donetsk region which is about 7km from the front line and is the first port of call for many civilians fleeing the war. "So I decided to go."

Her mother, who is 69, stayed behind.

Moscow denies targeting civilians but the UN refugee agency says about 5 million Ukrainians have been internally displaced by Russia's invasion. Many are from Donetsk region, which has been hit harder by fighting than any other province.