Ukraine confirms evacuation of more than 800 Donetsk residents as of Monday

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of the Occupied Territories of Ukraine Irina Vereshchuk has confirmed the evacuation of a total of 821 residents of Donetsk since Monday as part of the mandatory relocation operation from the region.

© Provided by News 360Archive - Evacuation of civilians in Ukraine - Alex Chan Tsz Yuk / Zuma Press / ContactoPhoto

According to Vereshchuk at a press conference, among the total number of evacuees there are 185 children and about 50 people with reduced mobility, as reported by the Russian news agency Ukrinform.

 The deputy prime minister said that this group of Donetsk residents has been sent to central regions of the Ukrainian territory, far from the battle line, such as Kirovograd, Poltava, Rivne, Vinnistia and Zhitomir.

Vereshchuk announced late last week that the government had begun preparations to order a mandatory evacuation of the region before winter given the near-total destruction of the heating supply infrastructure by fighting against Russian forces.

He further estimated that the mandatory evacuation order would affect between 200,000 and 220,000 residents of the region, right now the epicenter of the fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces. However, on Wednesday he estimated that more than 500,000 citizens will have to move to other regions.

According to Vereshchuk, the main fear faced by Donetsk residents is misinformation about what the future holds for them once they leave their homes, and he urged the media to disseminate and transmit information about it.