Ukraine Prepares to Evacuate Families from Last Two Major Strongholds in Donbas

Ukrainian authorities ordered on Thursday the evacuation of families with children from all towns in Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the last two major areas still under their control in the Donbas basin, according to "AFP".

The two areas are the last major strongholds of the Ukrainian army in the eastern Donetsk region, which Moscow seeks to fully control. Russian forces have been advancing slowly toward the cities for months.

Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk Military Administration, announced via Telegram: "We are expanding the mandatory evacuation zone for families with children, so that it now covers all towns in the Kramatorsk and Sloviansk districts," without specifying the number of people affected.

He explained that "the security situation is continuously deteriorating" and that the Russian army is shelling the cities "daily," stressing that "staying in place with children involves unjustified risk."

Local authorities had previously ordered mandatory evacuations in several parts of the two areas, which include the cities and surrounding villages.

In mid-October, local official Yulia Rygalkova reported that approximately 350 children remained in the two areas after mandatory evacuation orders were issued.

She also noted that more than 70,000 people, including about 3,000 children, still live in territories controlled by Kyiv in the Donetsk region.

Russian forces have reached a distance ranging between 5 and 15 kilometers from Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, according to sources.

A Russian strike on Tuesday killed four people in Kramatorsk. A week earlier, 30 people were killed in a Russian strike that hit two buses in the city.