Eastern Ukraine remained a focal point of urgent action on Tuesday as authorities announced the start of a mandatory evacuation for residents in the Donetsk region. Fierce clashes persist across the eastern front, pushing civilians to seek safer ground away from ongoing hostilities.
Among the government officials coordinating the effort is Iryna Vereshchuk, the deputy prime minister who also oversees the return and reintegration of territories not under government control. She reported that a prioritised transport plan is in place to move vulnerable groups, including women, children, the elderly, and people with reduced mobility, to safer areas. The initial train has already departed and is expected to reach Kropyvnytskyi by Wednesday, marking a cautious but significant step in the broader evacuation operation .
Vereshchuk noted that all recipients of the plan received the necessary physical support to facilitate their relocation, and assurances were given that they would be relocated to secure locations with essential services arranged in advance. Additional routes and modes of transport are anticipated to ferry evacuees to western cities such as Lviv, where temporary housing and services have been organized to accommodate the influx.
Earlier in the week, the government reiterated its directive to continue the forced evacuation of Donetsk as bombardments intensified in recent days. A televised address, shared via the presidential Telegram channel, called on residents who have not yet evacuated to make the move and reassured them of complete logistical and financial backing for the process.
In a direct appeal, the president urged residents to act promptly, arguing that faster evacuations would reduce the window of opportunity for enemy attacks. He acknowledged that there are still hundreds of thousands, possibly tens of thousands, of people who have not yet fled, with a large share being children who are understandably reluctant to leave their homes.
The regional leadership in Donetsk reported that casualties continued to mount, with hundreds killed and thousands injured over the past month due to Russian attacks. The figures underscore the urgent human cost of the conflict and the critical need for organized relocation to ensure the safety of civilians in the area .