Currently, active hostilities continue in 132 communities. However, the compulsory evacuation of children will only take place in Bakhmut, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said during the telethon.
"We have gradations: territories that are surrounded and blockaded, those where active hostilities are taking place, and those where hostilities are possible. The General Staff and the Ministry of Defence grade them based on the information they obtain from the Regional Military Administrations (RAMs). Because of the mistakes, because of what we saw during the mandatory evacuation, we realised that our Defence Forces, National Police, State Emergency Service, and the RAMs lacked the tools. So we have expanded this toolkit for our evacuation teams that take children out of the shelling. There are several safeguards present, we make sure there is no abuse so that people do not worry," she says.
Vereshchuk assures that children will not be separated from their families and evacuated unaccompanied. Compulsory evacuation of children will be carried out with the accompaniment of one of their parents or a person in loco parentis.
"In no case will we separate children from their families. If the adults decide to stay, they must sign the relevant form and refuse to be evacuated. If there is a minor dependent child, this option does not work for one of the adults. They are obliged to accompany the child to the place of evacuation," says Vereshchuk.
When asked what would happen to the children if their parents categorically refused to leave, she replied:
"The experience of the last month shows that if our National Police or evacuation teams arrive at a place where a child and an adult are staying, people usually do not refuse. The main thing for us is to find these locations."
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a mechanism for the forced evacuation of children from active hostilities. As children cannot take care of themselves, parents or guardians cannot refuse to evacuate.