In Donetsk region, 198 previously evacuated people returned to dangerous areas over past week

Over the past week, 198 people who were previously evacuated returned home to dangerous settlements in Donetsk region.

This was announced at an online briefing by Serhiy Honcharov, head of the Department for Civil Protection, Mobilization and Defense of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“Over the past week, according to our data, a total of 853 people left the region as evacuees. Among them are 226 men, 445 women, 173 children and nine people with disabilities. And, unfortunately, there are those who return to the territory of the region. Over the past week, 198 people have returned,” said Honcharov.

The RMA reminded that the mandatory evacuation of civilians in the Donetsk region has been ongoing since August 2, 2022. And the forced evacuation of children with their families in the Donetsk region began on April 7, 2023.

Read also: African mercenary captured fighting for Russia in Donetsk region

As reported, according to Vadym Filashkin, the head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, there are cases where families with children have been evacuated four times in the Donetsk region controlled by the Ukrainian authorities, but they still return home to dangerous settlements.

In total, 281,500 civilians remain in the Donetsk region.

Photo credit: Pavlo Kyrylenko, Facebook