On December 22, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Community and Administrative Development of Ukraine, over the past 7 months, since June 1, the authorities of this country have had to organize large-scale evacuations for a total of about 147,000 civilians.
This huge relocation campaign was carried out in the context of the constantly changing battle lines and the increasing firepower at the hot spots of fighting, directly threatening the safety of residential areas.
The focus of this evacuation is on Donetsk Oblast, which is currently the fiercest front of the conflict. According to statistics, up to 92,400 people have had to flee their homes in Kiev-controlled areas in Donetsk.
This accounts for the majority of the total number of displaced people, reflecting the extreme danger in eastern Ukraine, where infrastructure was severely damaged and essential services were almost completely paralyzed.
In addition to the main Donetsk front, the evacuation wave also spread to neighboring provinces and border areas affected by shelling. Dnepropetrovsk Oblast recorded more than 35,000 people displaced.
In northeastern areas such as Kharkov and Sumy, local governments have also moved more than 8,300 and 4,400 people to safety, respectively.
In the south, Ukrainian-controlled areas of Zaporozhye and Kherson provinces also had 2,800 and 3,700 evacuated people, respectively.
An alarming issue highlighted in the report is the rate of children in the refugees. Of the total 147,000 people who have to flee, more than 16,500 are children. Ensuring safety and minimum living conditions for this vulnerable group is posing a difficult logistical problem for Kiev, especially when the harsh winter is covering the entire region.
In the face of the increasingly approaching military situation, the Ministry of Community and territorial Development of Ukraine has issued an urgent message. The agency called on people in dangerous areas not to hesitate but to take advantage of all available opportunities and means to evacuate immediately.
Kiev officials have said that staying in frontline areas at this time is an extremely risky act, and at the same time causes great difficulties for the combat and defense activities of the Ukrainian army.
