Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Irina Vereshchuk has appealed to the population of the Donetsk region to evacuate the area in the face of constant Russian attacks.
«Today I know that there are at least 200,000 (people) left in the Donetsk region. We urge them to leave, for example, Bajmut. You see what kind of shelling there is now,» Vereshchuk said during a press conference, Ukrinform reports.
The Kiev official in charge of issues related to the Russian-controlled territories thus called on citizens, especially those with children, to withdraw to safer areas. «Do not risk the lives of your children,» she said.
He has also pointed out that the evacuation of Donetsk should take place at least during the winter months and that, later on, an assessment of the situation would be made again to recommend the population to return to their homes, or not. «No one will leave you alone,» he assured.
Vereshchuk acknowledged that although the Donetsk authorities put the number of residents living in the area at 350,000, the national authorities have somewhat lower figures, although of the 200,000 residents known to Kiev, at least a tenth are minors.
On the other hand, the deputy prime minister reported that the evacuation of the areas liberated by the Ukrainian army is still continuing. In Kherson 12,000 people have been evacuated and another 23,000 in Kharkov.
Since the beginning of the war, at least 33,000 citizens, including 5,000 children and 2,000 people with reduced mobility, have been evacuated from Donetsk to safer areas of the Ukrainian geography.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
