There are currently 176,000 civilians, including 10,700 children, still living in the part of Donetsk Oblast controlled by Ukrainian authorities. Since early March, 6,600 people, including 760 children, have left the region.
The progress of the evacuation in the Donetsk region was discussed during a regular briefing at the regional state administration, attended by representatives of the Department of Civil Protection, Mobilization, and Defense, and the Department of Social Protection.
Approximately 18,000 people remain in the territory of 21 communities designated as active combat zones.
The forced evacuation of families with children is ongoing in 7 settlements in Donetsk Oblast, where 144 children remain. In the city of Druzhkivka—6 children; in the Mykolaiv community—18 children; in the Sviatohirsk community—13 children; and in the village of Serhiivka in the Andriivka community—30 children. Recently, certain districts of Sloviansk were added to the territory where the forced evacuation of families with children is ongoing; 87 children are registered in the designated area.
Since early March, 150 minors have been evacuated as part of the mandatory evacuation of families with children. Since the announcement of mandatory evacuation measures for families with children in Donetsk Oblast, 20,218 children have been evacuated. All children were evacuated from 370 settlements covered by the mandatory evacuation of families with children.
In safer regions of Ukraine, free housing is being provided to Donetsk residents who have nowhere else to go. Since the beginning of March, 197 people have been resettled free of charge in 14 regions, including 137 residents with limited mobility and 37 children. In March, Rivne, Lviv, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions took in the largest number of Donetsk residents, while families with children were housed in shelters in Kyiv, Cherkasy, and Vinnytsia regions.
Overall, the number of people leaving Donetsk Oblast and turning to transit centers increased in March. While in February up to 100 people passed through the transit center in Kharkiv Oblast per day, on March 24, for example, 262 people sought assistance there.