On February 2, 2023, a US citizen, Pete Reed, was killed during an evacuation mission in Bakhmut. He was evacuating people from hot spots.
Pete along with a group of enthusiasts called themselves the Bakhmut Evacuation Network. Their goal was to save people from Bakhmut and dangerous frontline villages.
“Pete had contacted us the day before the tragedy when his team visited Bakhmut on our request. We always help each other with our evacuation partners: support, share applications, contacts, and arrange routes. The evacuation crews of the foundation have not been visiting Bakhmut for some time but Pete and his team kept on going there,” says Yaroslav Korniienko, the coordinator of the evacuation direction of the Charitable Foundation “Vostok SOS”.
On Thursday, February 2, three evacuation crews of the Bakhmut Evacuation Network were returning from Bakhmut and were shelled by russians. Six evacuees were injured. They are currently in hospitals in different cities of Ukraine. Two civilians were in Pete’s crew, their fate is not yet known. Pete Reed died at the age of 33.
“I understood he died from a plain signal message “Did you hear about Pete?” I froze. What other can that mean in a war context? The words felt like a sword cutting a tear into my world,” said Imke Hansen, coordinator of the psychosocial direction of the Charitable Foundation “Vostok SOS”, in the obituary.
The team of the Foundation expresses our condolences to all the victims. We urge everyone to be vigilant about their own life and leave the frontline areas as soon as possible. Pete Reed will forever remain in the hearts of his colleagues, sworn brothers, and sisters. His example demonstrated his concern for the fate of Ukrainians, courage, resilience, and self-sacrifice.
We are asking you to support the fundraising to help the evacuation crews that came under fire from the occupiers on February 2 near Bakhmut. For more details, follow the link.
