The city of Kupiansk  in northeastern Ukraine has been closed off since the end of September; no one can enter or leave — not even aid workers. There are now Russian soldiers stationed there. Seventy-five-year-old Valentyna left behind a home on the northern outskirts of Kupiansk. Another resident helped her reach the village of Shevchenkove to the west. From there, she was  taken on to Kharkiv by volunteers. DW met her there at a transit center for internally displaced persons (IDPs).