Ukraine on Thursday ordered the evacuation of children and their guardians from several towns and villages in the eastern Donetsk region, where fighting with Russian troops has intensified since Moscow launched a new ground offensive early last month.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russian firepower is now concentrated in Donetsk, which the Kremlin claimed to have annexed in 2022 despite not having full control over the region.
"This is an important decision designed primarily to save the lives of our children," Donetsk region Governor Vadym Filashkin said on social media. "The security situation in the region is constantly deteriorating and the intensity of shelling is increasing."
He listed the town of Lyman, which was briefly held by Russian forces before being recaptured, as well as several other villages near the front line, as being impacted by the evacuation order.
In the early months of the full-scale invasion, Zelensky urged all residents of the industrial Donetsk region to flee, but those orders were not enforced.
Ukraine was forced last month to divert manpower to the northeastern Kharkiv region from other areas of the front line after Russian forces launched their new offensive there.
Since capturing the hub of Avdiivka in February, Russian forces have pushed further west against the Ukrainian army, which is suffering manpower and ammunition shortages.
Filashkin had earlier on Thursday announced that one person was killed and three more were wounded in separate Russian attacks on the territory.
"A 59-year-old woman was killed in Chasіv Yar and a man of retirement age was wounded," he said, referring to a town situated on strategic heights that Russian forces have been storming.
He said two civilians were killed and more than a dozen more were wounded in Russian attacks the day before.
More than 217 people were evacuated, including 61 children, the day before, he added in his statement.
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