“We have evacuated 136,000 people from Donetsk region, but most of them have returned home again.” Vereshchuk on difficulties of evacuation from frontline areas
5 March 2024 13:26
EХСLUSIVE
Evacuating the population from the frontline areas remains a difficult task, as not everyone dares to leave the dangerous regions, despite active fighting and regular bombardment. According to the United Nations, as of February 2024, more than 30,000 Ukrainian civilians have become victims of full-scale Russian aggression. In turn, the Office of the Prosecutor General reported that 513 children died from constant Russian shelling at the end of last year. These figures are not accurate, and the death toll continues to rise. As noted in a comment to Kommersant Ukrainian 
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk, the highest number of deaths is recorded in the frontline areas. It is more difficult to regulate the evacuation process at the state level if the population refuses to take responsibility.
“Now the situation is improving a bit. But it was harder before. Because adults refused to take their children out, we had to pass a resolution on forced evacuation because people did not feel threatened. Now those who left are grateful. I come to Zakarpattia or Lviv region, for example, and they say they were afraid. And now they are grateful because they saved the lives of their children and their families,”
– said the Deputy Prime Minister.
According to her, the evacuation of the population in each region is different and is planned. In particular, it starts with meetings at the level of heads of regional military administrations. They, in turn, keep in touch with the military responsible for a particular section of the front line.
“Initially, the decision on the need for evacuation is made by the military. As soon as they say it’s necessary, the EMB responds immediately, and we respond immediately. So we are waiting for information from the military. Currently, there are no such decisions in some frontline regions,”
– Vereshchuk adds.
At the same time, there are areas where enemy shelling continues regularly. According to the minister, the most difficult situation is in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Sumy regions.
“The other day we had a meeting with the military administration on the evacuation of the population from Sumy region. They say that as of today, three territorial communities need to be evacuated. And a decision will soon be made on mandatory evacuation. And for children, it’s a forced evacuation – about 200 children. There is a resolution that they are obliged to leave. For example, in Donetsk region, mandatory evacuation has been in place for over a year,” she explains.
Another obstacle to evacuation is the provision of humanitarian aid. According to Vereshchuk, this is a “double-edged sword”. However, all the agencies involved in the evacuation are taking a conscious risk by providing humanitarian aid to the frontline communities. Because, having everything they need, the population refuses to leave the territory or returns after a while.
“To give you an idea, we have evacuated 136,000 people from Donetsk Oblast. But 80,000 have already returned to these territories. In fact, Donetsk region is huge. The main thing is to ensure that there are no children left in the settlements close to the front line – this is a moral aspect for us. Therefore, I once again urge all citizens who are there to save their lives and their children and leave for safer regions,” the Deputy Prime Minister concluded.
As a reminder, on 29 February, the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, Oleh Syniehubov, said that the Kharkiv Regional Defence Council would soon consider introducing a forced evacuation of families with children from 18 villages in the Velykoburlutska and Vilkhuvatska communities.
Author: Yelyzaveta Nesvit
