It was finally time for Vasyl Kurlyshchuk to leave.
When Ukraine's State Emergency Service evacuation team arrived outside the gate of his small home in the eastern village of Kalynivka on Tuesday, the 74-year-old began slowly sorting through his papers and faded picture albums.
A neighbor, Vera, came to say goodbye. She was going to stay in the settlement and wanted to know if Kurlyshchuk was taking his solar powered battery with him. He decided he would, so she left, bidding farewell.