Russian MoD: almost 20,000 people evacuated from Donbass
Russian National Defense Control Center announced that around 20,000 people evacuated from Donbass, Ukraine to Russia in the past 24 hours.
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Evacuation of civilians from Mariupol (REUTERS)
Over the previous 24 hours, approximately 20,000 individuals, including nearly 1,000 children, have been evacuated to Russia from dangerous regions of Ukraine and Donbass, according to Mikhail Mizintsev, the head of the Russian National Defense Control Center.
"Despite all the difficulties and hurdles caused by Kiev, in the past 24 hours, without involvement from the Ukrainian authorities, 19,834 people, including 970 children, have been evacuated to the Russian Federation from dangerous areas of the people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk and Ukraine," Mizintsev said.
Read next: Thousands evacuated from Donbass, civilians injured by Ukrainian shelling
Since the start of the special operation, a total of 1,185,791 people have been evacuated, including 206,610 children.
Over 9,500 temporary housing facilities for arriving refugees are open in Russia, according to Mizintsev.
UN: +170 people evacuated from Azovstal
According to Osnat Lubrani, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, more than 170 people were evacuated from the Azovstal steel complex and other places around Mariupol on Sunday.
"Another round of evacuations of civilians from Azovstal steelworks and other areas around Mariupol has been successfully concluded today. I am immensely relieved to confirm that more than 170 people who have endured over 10 weeks of intense shelling and fighting are now able to have some respite in Zaporizhzhia, where humanitarian organizations will provide immediate assistance to them," Lubrani said in a statement.
"This new safe passage operation brings the total number of people evacuated from the area to over 600. It has been possible thanks to the determination of the teams from the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross with whom I have worked hand in hand during the last 10 days," Lubrani added.
