A Ukraine serviceman fires a Caesar self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops, outside the town of Pokrovsk, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Ukraine on Monday (August 19, 2024) ordered the evacuation of families with children from Pokrovsk, as Russian forces have been inching towards the eastern city for months.

“We are starting the forced evacuation of families with children from the Pokrovsk community,” Donetsk governor Vadym Filashkin said, ordering the “compulsory” evacuation of children and their parents from Pokrovsk and about a dozen surrounding villages.

He said more than 53,000 people live in the area, including almost 4,000 children.

Filashkin called the decision to evacuate “necessary and inevitable.”

Pokrovsk lies on the intersection of a key road that supplies Ukrainian troops and towns across the eastern front and has long been a target for the Russian army.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said Sunday (August 18, 2024) its forces had captured Svyrydonivka, another frontline settlement some 15 kilometres (nine miles) away from Pokrovsk.

The head of Pokrovsk’s military administration, Sergiy Dobryak, warned last week that Russia was a little more than 10 kilometres from the outskirts of the city and urged remaining residents to evacuate.