350 evacuated from Ukraine Sloviansk: Officials
About 350 children and their parents have been evacuated from Ukraine’s eastern city of Sloviansk, officials say.
The city’s authorities also said on Friday that they were in need of help for evacuating civilians from the eastern areas of the city of Donetsk.
People of Sloviansk are reportedly facing a shortage of food and medicine as violence rages on in the restive region.
Meanwhile, Alexander Borodai, the prime minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), warned that locals have difficulty in meeting their basic needs.
“There is a huge humanitarian disaster and the people in Sloviansk really need help,” Borodai said.
The Red Cross aid has not arrived yet as “it is stuck in places that are controlled by our enemies,” Borodai stated.
In addition, Denis Pushilin, the republic’s self-proclaimed parliament speaker, said there have been instances where people, claiming to be affiliated with the DPR, have stolen aid heading to Sloviansk.
Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking eastern parts have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army since Kyiv launched military operations in the southeastern regions in mid-April in a bid to root out the demonstrations there.
On May 12, the Donetsk and Luhansk regions declared independence following local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Kyiv.
HRM/MHB/MAM