The evacuation order comes as Russia advances in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, where it has announced it has taken control of the town of Zalizny.
Ukrainian authorities have issued an urgent order for families with children to evacuate the eastern city of Pokrovsk, where the Russian army is advancing rapidly despite a rapid Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.
Local authorities said Russian forces were advancing so quickly that families were being asked to leave the city and other nearby towns and villages starting Tuesday. Officials say about 53,000 people still live in Pokrovsk, with some already fleeing their homes as the Russian army advanced.
Donetsk Governor Vadim Vilashkin said the evacuation decision taken on Monday was “necessary and inevitable.”
Pokrovsk is one of Ukraine’s main defensive strongholds and a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region. Its capture by Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, would jeopardize Ukraine’s defensive capabilities and supply routes, and bring Russia closer to its stated goal of capturing the entire Donetsk region.
One of Kyiv’s attempts to ease pressure on its eastern front was the unexpected incursion into Russia’s Kursk region on August 6, which was intended, among other things, to alarm the Kremlin and force it to divide its military resources.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that the bold incursion was aimed at creating a buffer zone that could prevent further attacks from Moscow across the border, particularly with long-range artillery, rockets and glide bombs. The operation continued on Monday in complete secrecy.
Russia’s six-month military campaign across Ukraine’s Donetsk region after the capture of Avdiivka has cost Russia heavy losses in troops and equipment. But the ferocious assault is gradually bearing fruit, with Ukrainian defenders left with no choice but to withdraw from positions devastated by Russian artillery, rockets and bombs.
Russia wants to control all parts of Donetsk and neighbouring Luhansk, which together form the Donbas region.
In an interview with the U.S.-funded Radio Liberty, officials said Pokrovsk residents had just two weeks to safely leave the city. Officials warned last week that Russian forces were advancing rapidly and were just 10 kilometers (six miles) from the city’s outskirts.
Russia takes control of Zalizny city
Ukrainian military commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Monday that “fierce fighting” was taking place in the Pokrovsk region.
He added that the nearby city of Toretsk, whose capture would open the door to a Russian advance towards the key Chasiv Yar stronghold from the south, was also under intense pressure.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Monday its forces had taken control of the town of Zalizny in Donetsk, as its offensive on the nearby city of Toretsk gained momentum.
Zalizny, which Russia calls by its Soviet-era name Artemovo, is located next to Toretsk, a mining town and long-time stronghold of Ukrainian forces operating in the Donbas region.
Russian forces have been advancing at a rate of two square kilometres (0.8 square miles) per day in the Pokrovsk area over the past six months, the Institute for the Study of War said.
ISIS fighters have relied on direct village-to-village infantry attacks, making incremental advances as they demonstrate their superiority in manpower and material, a Washington-based think tank said Sunday.
Pokrovsk officials were meeting with residents to provide them with logistical details for the evacuation. Residents were offered shelter in western Ukraine, where they will be housed in separate housing and houses prepared for them.
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