The evacuation of civilians applies from the areas in and around the city of Donetsk that are not controlled by Russia.
- The more people who leave the Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill, President Zelensky is said to have said in a televised speech quoted by Reuters.
Government decision on evacuation taken
In his daily video address on social media on Saturday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy also announced that a government decision on evacuation has already been made, that the authorities are organizing and that it is now up to every resident to leave the area.
- We just need a decision from the people themselves, who have not yet made it.
Get started, we'll help.
- We are not Russia.
Therefore, every life is important to us.
And we will use every available opportunity to save as many lives as possible and to the greatest extent possible limit Russian terror, he said.
According to Iryna Vereshtyuk, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, the evacuation must take place before winter begins because the region's gas resources have been destroyed, Reuters reports.
Hundreds of thousands in war zones in Donbas
Zelensky also reportedly said that hundreds of thousands of people, including tens of thousands of children, who are still in war zones in the greater Donbas region must leave the area.
- Many refuse to leave, but it must be done anyway.
If you have the opportunity, please, talk to those who are still in war zones in Donbas.
Convince them that it is necessary to leave, the president also said.
Military analyst: Fighting may intensify
The Ministry of Defense in Great Britain has made the assessment that Ukraine has probably succeeded in repelling small-scale Russian attacks on the front line near the city of Donetsk.
Meanwhile, military analysts at the ISW think tank believe fighting in Donetsk will intensify after the president ordered people to evacuate.