Evacuations in Donetsk and Sumy regions: 57,000 people in combat zones, departures from Druzhkivka almost stopped

Donetsk region: how many people remain

About 67,600 people remain in the Ukrainian-controlled part of Donetsk region, 57,000 of them in 21 communities where active fighting is under way. Dmytro Petlin, a representative of the Donetsk regional military administration, said this at an online briefing on 28 October. More than 8,000 people left the region in October. Since February 2022 a total of 1.472 million people have been evacuated from Donetsk region, including 217,000 children. Mandatory evacuation has been in force in the region since 2 August 2022.

The largest numbers remain in the Kramatorsk–Sloviansk agglomeration: about 26,500 in the Kramatorsk community and 22,500 in the Sloviansk community. As Suspilne notes, departures from these cities are shrinking: in October about 3,500 people left Kramatorsk and 1,750 left Sloviansk.

Druzhkivka: “almost zero evacuation”

The hardest situation is in the Druzhkivka community, where, according to local authorities, 1,300 civilians remain. “There is almost no evacuation from the community any more, the situation there is very difficult. In October 150 people were evacuated,” Petlin said. Previously 20 to 30 people a day left, but now, he said, “it is almost zero evacuation”. For comparison, about 1,900 civilians remained in the community as of 16 September.

Evacuation teams work in the region every day: one State Emergency Service “Phoenix” crew, 12–14 police “White Angel” crews and 10 to 15 volunteer crews.

Children in the mandatory evacuation zone

The authorities track children separately. According to the Donetsk regional administration, 1,746 children in 1,580 families remain in the mandatory evacuation zone in 15 settlements, most of them in Sloviansk (1,234) and Kramatorsk (484). Last week alone 452 children were evacuated under the mandatory procedure, and 761 in October. Mandatory evacuation of children has been in force in the region since 7 April 2023.

Sumy region: 34,000 people in the border area

In Sumy region 213 settlements are subject to evacuation. Oleh Hryhorov, head of the Sumy regional military administration, told Ukrinform that more than 57,000 people, including 8,000 children, have already been evacuated from them. At the same time about 34,000 civilians remain in dangerous border areas. The authorities keep explaining the risks, but refusals to leave are recorded regularly.

The city of Sumy itself lies 20 km from the line of contact and suffers considerable damage from Russian fibre-optic FPV drones that reach almost 50 km into the region. Since October the region has been running an evacuation and relocation project that preserves livelihoods: families from the border area can leave together with their livestock, receiving special transport, veterinary support and money to set up a new farm.

Hryhorov also spoke about schools: 225 of the region’s 280 schools have their own shelters, and 75,000 children study in the region. Since the start of the full-scale invasion Russian forces have damaged 165 schools in Sumy region and completely destroyed 21. Construction of underground schools is being scaled up, with 14 more cost estimates prepared.

Where to get help

Suspilne lists contacts for evacuation from Donetsk region: the regional administration hotline 0 800 507 506 and the volunteers of the Skhid SOS foundation 0 800 332 614.