Ukraine orders more evacuations as Russia steps up pressure
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A firefighter working at the site of a Russian drone strike in the town of Druzhkivka, in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, on Aug 2.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Ukraine ordered mandatory evacuations of families with children from Druzhkivka and four nearby villages due to increased Russian military activity.
- Russian forces claimed to have captured Iskra and Shcherbynivka in Donetsk, marking their biggest gain in over a year.
- These evacuations and advances occur before a US-Russia summit, increasing pressure amid ongoing conflict.
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KYIV - Ukraine on Aug 14 ordered more evacuations in the east, from a town close to where Moscow’s army recently made a swift breakthrough, as it steps up pressure ahead of the US-Russia summit.
“We began the mandatory evacuation of families with children from the town of Druzhkivka,” said Donetsk regional military administration head Vadym Filashkin, adding that four more villages near the town were also ordered to evacuate.
He added that 1,879 children were remaining in the settlements.
Earlier on Aug 14, Russian forces claimed to have captured the village of Iskra and the small town of Shcherbynivka in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, which the Kremlin claims to have annexed in September 2022.
Russian forces had on Aug 12 swiftly advanced by up to 10km
This was their biggest gain for a 24-hour period in over a year, according to an AFP analysis of data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
On Aug 13, Ukraine ordered evacuations from Bilozerske, another town not far from where the Russians were advancing.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump are to meet on Aug 15
