The Ukrainian government has decided on a mandatory evacuation of people in the area around the eastern city of Donetsk, the scene of fierce fighting with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.
In a late-night address, Zelensky also said the hundreds of thousands of people still in combat zones in the greater Donbass region must leave.
“The more people leave Donetsk region now, the less people the Russian army will have time to kill,” he said, adding that residents would be given compensation.
Separately, local Ukrainian media quoted Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk as saying that the evacuation must take place before the onset of winter, as natural gas supplies to the region have been destroyed.
Zelensky said hundreds of thousands of people still live in areas of Donbas where fighting is fierce.
“Many refuse to leave, but it still needs to be done,” he said. “If you have the opportunity, please talk to those who still remain in the Donbas fighting zones. Please convince them that they need to leave.
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