90% of residents evacuated from Bakhmut — mayor

Almost 90% of residents of the Bakhmut community in the Donetsk region, or more than 70,000 people, have evacuated the area, whereas 8,700 people continue to live under shelling.

Bakhmut Mayor Oleksii Reva said this in a post on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

"Despite the difficult security situation, the evacuation of residents from Bakhmut continues. Almost 90% of the residents of the Bakhmut community, which is more than 70,000 people, have already moved to safer regions or temporarily left the territory of Ukraine. Some 8,700 residents of Bakhmut remain in the community and live under constant shelling," the mayor wrote.

He once again called on people to evacuate and recalled that, according to the Government Coordination Headquarters, mandatory evacuation will be redirected from the Ternopil region to the Cherkasy region from January 2. There, people will be accommodated in municipal facilities and provided with humanitarian aid.

"It is very difficult to live far from home, but there is no safe place in Bakhmut today," Reva said.

Russian have been constantly shelling Bakhmut and its infrastructure, which has already been partially or completely destroyed by more than 60%.