Russian military evacuated 18,873 Ukrainians from Eastern region
Russian defense officials announce the evacuation of several Ukrainians from the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
A senior Russian defense official stated on Saturday that the Russian force had brought 18,873 Ukrainians besieged in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions to safety during the previous day, including 2,282 minors.
"A total of 1,396,798 people, including 234,762 children have been evacuated since the start of the special military operation," Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev told a news briefing.
On the last day, Russian bomb teams cleaned more than 76 hectares of unexploded ordnance in the eastern areas, destroying 1,659 explosive devices.
Since early March, more than 21,500 tonnes of humanitarian aid have been sent to individuals in need in Ukraine, according to Mizintsev. The assistance included necessities such as food, medicine, and medical equipment.
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On Friday, the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu revealed that the situation in the Western strategic direction is characterized by an increase in military threats near the Russian borders.
"The situation in the western strategic direction is characterized by an increase in military threats near Russian borders. Over the past eight years, the intensity of US strategic bomber flights in Europe has increased 15-fold (to 45 per year from just three). The visits to the Baltic Sea by US ships with controlled rocket weapons also became systematical," Shoigu said.