Less than 3,000 people — including 33 children — remain in the embattled city of Bakhmut, according to Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk regional military administration.
"The evacuation continues, and not only in Bakhmut, we are working along the entire frontline," Kyrylenko said on national television Wednesday.
Evacuation is mandatory in the region, but some people still refuse to leave, he said.
"There are still people who definitely do not want to leave, and it is a very difficult task to persuade them. More than 1,100,000 people out of 1,670,000 have left Donetsk region since February 24, 2022," he added.