Around 250 children remain in active combat zones in Donetsk region

In settlements of Donetsk region classified as active combat zones, as many as 250 children remain.

That is according to Dmytro Petlin, Head of the Department for Operational Duty Services, Communication, Notification, and Population Information at the Donetsk Regional Military Administration (RMA), who provided the update during an online briefing, as reported by Ukrinform.

“In communities identified as active combat zones, approximately 47,000 people remain, including 250 children,” Petlin stated.

The Donetsk RMA reminded that 19 communities in the region have areas designated as active combat zones. These include Pokrovsk, Chasiv Yar, Toretsk, Bakhmut, Soledar, Zvanivka, Siversk, Illinivka, Kostiantynivka, Lyman, Hrodivka, Kurakhove, Maryinka, Myrnohrad, Novohrodivka, Ocheretyne, Selydove, Vuhledar, and Novoselivka.

Acting head of the children’s affairs service in Donetsk RMA Yuliia Ryzhakova revealed that in five settlements, 41 children from 27 families remain, all subject to mandatory evacuation alongside their parents or legal guardians.

The largest number of children remaining is in Udachne rural territorial community, with 23 children from 17 families, including 17 children in the village of Serhiivka (13 families) and six children in Kalynivka (four families).

Ryzhakova noted that the mandatory evacuation of children and their families, initiated in Donetsk region on April 7, 2023, is ongoing. Over the past two weeks, 73 children from 44 families were evacuated, with the majority — 54 children from 28 families — coming from Udachne community.

As reported, as of December 18, 2024, around 290 children were reported to remain in combat zones in Donetsk region.

Mandatory evacuation of civilians continues across the region, particularly in settlements near the front line. Approximately 307,000 civilians remain in Donetsk region overall.