After Russian forces captured the whole of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region in July, the Ukrainian government started pushing for inhabitants of the neighbouring Donetsk region to leave for safer territory.
People living near the frontlines and across the region were ordered to evacuate from early August in anticipation of a hard winter with it becoming impossible to warm people’s homes due to destruction of critical infrastructure.
In the first six months of full-scale war, 75% of Donetsk residents – more than 1.2 million people – were evacuated. But 350,000 residents stayed behind, in Ukrainian-controlled areas.
