Approximately 20,000 people remain in Myrnohrad, Donetsk Region, which is being approached by the Russian army, including about a thousand children.
This was reported by Yuriy Tretyak, acting head of the Myrnohrad city military administration, on Radio Svoboda.
According to him, 20,000 people still remain in the city, including a thousand children. Many residents are evacuating themselves, but there are those who refuse to leave.
"The situation is tense and stable. But the enemy is gradually advancing. The contact line is now about six kilometres from the city of Myrnohrad. People are leaving, but not as fast and as lively as we would like, as the situation requires," said Tretyak.
He added that the authorities are trying to evacuate children and the elderly first. People have to be persuaded to leave the city, and administration officials are going round the city's homes calling for evacuation. The city authorities plan to evacuate all residents of Myrnohrad by the end of August.
"There are people who refuse to leave for any reason... There are not many of them, but there are cases when parents say on the phone that their children have already left, and we find out that they are still in the community," said the head of the city's military administration.