KYIV: Ukrainian authorities on Tuesday ordered almost 2,200 children with their guardians to leave settlements in the country's centre-east Dnipropetrovsk region amid ramped-up Russian strikes and Moscow's troops inching forward.
Mandatory evacuation has been announced for 16 settlements located east of the region's capital Dnipro, Oleksandr Ganzha, the head of the regional military administration, said on social media.
"Within a month, families with children must leave these areas. Parents, guardians or legal representatives must take 2,177 boys and girls to safer territories," Ganzha said.
He said the evacuees would be taken to transit centres and assisted with finding new accommodation.
The Dnipropetrovsk region is frequently pummelled by Russian drones and missiles.
Fighting is ongoing in the region's east, but the Ukrainian army made minor gains in the area last month, according to AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Russia's advance across the sprawling frontline has slowed in 2026, though Ukraine's army remains stretched by manpower shortages and fatigue as the Russian invasion drags through its fifth year.
The number of civilians killed in Ukraine in July jumped to its highest level since the first months of the Russian invasion, the United Nations said.