The Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine has long been in Moscow's sights. Vladimir Putin reportedly says he'll freeze the war in return for full control of it.

Russia already controls 70% of Donetsk and nearly all of neighbouring Luhansk - and is making slow but steady advances.

I'm heading to the front-line Donetsk town of Dobropillia with two humanitarian volunteers, just 8km (five miles) from Russia's positions. They're on a mission to bring the sick, elderly and children to safer ground.

At first, it goes like clockwork. We speed into the town in an armoured car, equipped with rooftop drone-jamming equipment, hitting 130km/h (80mph). The road is covered in tall green netting which obscures visibility from above - protecting it from Russian drones.

This is their second trip of the morning, and the streets are mostly empty. The few remaining residents only leave their homes to quickly collect supplies. Russian attacks come daily.

The town already looks abandoned and has been without water for a week. Every building we pass has been damaged, with some reduced to ruins.

In the previous five days, Laarz, a 31-year-old German, and Varia, a 19-year-old Ukrainian, who work for the charity Universal Aid Ukraine, have made dozens of trips to evacuate people.

A week earlier, small groups of Russian troops breached the defences around the town, sparking fears that the front line of Ukraine's so-called fortress belt could collapse. Extra troops were rushed to the area and Ukrainian authorities say the situation has been stabilised. But most of Dobropillia's residents feel it's time to go.

Evacuees leave the town of Dobropillia in Donetsk, Ukraine. A week earlier, small groups of Russian troops breached the defences around the town, sparking fears that the front line of Ukraine's so-called fortress belt could collapse.

As the evacuation team arrives, Vitalii Kalinichenko, 56, is waiting on the doorstep of his apartment block, with a plastic bag full of belongings in hand. My windows were all smashed, look, they all flew out on the second floor. I'm the only one left, he says.

He's wearing a grey t-shirt and black shorts, and his right leg is bandaged. Mr Kalinichenko points to a crater beyond some rose bushes where a Shahed drone crashed a couple of nights earlier, shattering his windows and cutting his leg. The engine from another drone lies in a neighbour's garden.

Laarz spots a drone overhead and we take cover again under trees. His handheld drone detector shows multiple Russian drones in the area.

As we are about to leave, an older woman in a summer dress and straw hat is warned about the drone. Suddenly, an explosion hits nearby, echoing off the apartment blocks and creating more urgency in the evacuation process.

In war, front lines shift, towns are lost and won and lost again, but with Russia advancing and the fate of the region hanging on negotiations, this may be the final time Anton and the other evacuees see their homes.

Anton, whose mother stayed behind, expresses his hope that she will leave too soon and emphasizes the need for a peaceful resolution without further bloodshed.

Varia, on the other hand, is skeptical about negotiations, stating that giving land to Russia will only lead to more conflict. The situation remains precarious as military actions continue to unfold around them.

Despite the dire circumstances, the effort to evacuate residents continues as they strive for safety amidst a backdrop of destruction and uncertainty.