In the eastern city of Pokrovsk, parents are hiding their kids from the authorities in order to avoid having to evacuate, despite indications that Russian forces are moving quickly forward.
In spite of Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russian territory, Russian forces are pushing forward and residents in and around Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine, are being advised to evacuate within the next two weeks.
While Ukraine continues to march into the Kursk region, Russia insisted on Thursday that it had blocked another attempt by Ukraine to advance into the border region of Bryansk.
“Avoid waiting. It is just going to grow worse—it won’t get better. Go now. Yurii Tretiak, the chief of the military administration in the town of Myrnohrad, which is currently less than 3 miles (4.8 km) from the frontline, issued that dire warning to the local authorities.
The Ukrainian ministry in charge of the reintegration of areas that were previously ruled by Russia has announced that children attending certain districts in the Donetsk region of Ukraine—including the Pokrovsk district—will be forcibly removed together with their parents or other legal representatives.
However, according to Tretiak, a lot of parents are still hesitant to leave, even going so far as to conceal their kids from the police, encouraging the military government to do home calls.
There are instances where parents conceal their kids. We will meet with the police today, August 20, to talk about how we will deal with these people and find these parents who hide their kids and tell people the kids have long since left. He also mentioned that the risks are growing because some parts of the town are being attacked on a daily basis.
The Pokrovsk City military administration estimates that the total population of the community, which includes Pokrovsk City, Myrnohrad town, and 39 nearby villages, is close to 59,000. An estimated 600 to 700 individuals have been leaving every day, according to the administration.
Tretiak stated in a radio interview on Tuesday that “the enemy is advancing faster than expected.” Thus, our goal is to evacuate as many people as we can by the end of the week.
Pokrovsk is not a large city—roughly 60,000 people called it home prior to the war, and many more have subsequently gone since the invasion began in earnest—but because it is conveniently located near Kostiantynivka, another military center, it is an important hub for the Ukrainian military.
The road that connects the two is used by Ukrainian forces to transport wounded people toward Dnipro and replenish the front lines.