UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Mar. 20 — Local authorities of the Zolochiv community in the Kharkiv oblast plan to declare a mandatory evacuation in Liutivka, Svitlychne, and Makarove villages because of constant Russian attacks, said Viktor Kovalenko, the head of Zolochiv village military administration, to Gwara Media.

These villages are located near the Russia-Ukraine border at a distance of 10 to 6 kilometers (3.7-6.2 miles) from it. Russian forces constantly attack the villages, mostly with drones, said Kovalenko.

He also noted that there is no electricity or gas supply in these villages.

The authorities made the decision of mandatory evacuation as there are families with children living there. “There are 16 children in Liutivka, nine in Svitlychne, and one child in Makarove,” said Kovalenko.

The head of the administration said that a week earlier, there were more children in the border villages, but families started to evacuate by themselves.

On Mar. 5, the law that allows a forced evacuation of children from the areas threatened by Russia’s war without parents’ consent came into effect. As for now, there were no cases of families with children refusing evacuation, said Kovalenko.

Kovalenko added that some evacuated families received financial help from the Relief Coordinating Centre and returned to their homes in the border villages.

Currently, 1,133 people live in the border villages of the Zolochiv community, Kovalenko said.

Read more

  • “We visited to bring them gifts, and now we come in bulletproof vests” — Inside evacuation mission from Kharkiv oblast village threatened by expanding range of Russian drones
  • “Soldiers laugh at our body armor.” Concerns over ambulance crews safety mount in Kharkiv region

⚡ The fifth year of the Russian full-scale invasion started, so it’s been four years since most of us here at our Kharkiv-based newsroom became war reporters. Please consider supporting our journalism via a one-time donation — or join our community.