Ukraine orders evacuation of thousands of civilians from Zaporozhye and Dnipropetrovsk regions where Russians advanced
War in Ukraine: Civilians evacuated from Vovchansk, Kharkiv region, Photo: Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy / UkrInform / Profimedia
Ukrainian authorities on Friday ordered the evacuation of more than 3,000 children and their parents from about 40 towns in the Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, where Russian forces have made advances in recent months.
According to the Ukrainian minister of reconstruction, Oleksii Kuleba, evacuations also took place in the last days of December in the Chernihiv region, in the north of Ukraine, AFP and Agerpres report.
“In total, 150,000 people have been evacuated from frontline areas to safer regions since June 1 (2025). Among them are almost 18,000 children,” said Oleksii Kuleba.
The announcement of the evacuation of civilians by the Ukrainian authorities shows the extent of the advance of Russian forces on the front, which threatens new localities.
Most of the forced evacuations of civilians from Ukraine in recent years have taken place in the eastern Donetsk region, where most of the fighting is concentrated. But the Russian army is also advancing in the Dnipropetrovsk region, where it penetrated in the summer of 2025, and in the Zaporizhia region, where the front has been stalled for years.
The Russians conquered less than 1% of the territory of Ukraine in 2025. The situation in the seven regions where Moscow's forces entered
In northeastern Ukraine, Russian missiles hit a multi-story apartment building in Kharkiv on Friday, leaving the building in ruins and injuring at least 25 people, officials said, but Russia denied an attack, Reuters reported. Photos and videos posted online showed smoke rising from a vast area of destruction, with emergency crews picking their way through rubble and large chunks of construction materials.
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The Russian army made its strongest front-line advance in Ukraine in 2025 since the first year of the invasion, according to data analyzed by AFP, maintaining heavy military pressure.
The security advisers of the European countries allied to Kiev are to meet in the Ukrainian capital on Saturday with Ukrainian officials, with the participation by video conference of an American team. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, around 15 countries have confirmed their participation, as well as representatives of the EU and NATO.
