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Dnipropetrovsk Oblast's eastern villages evacuating families as Russian troops close in

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Dnipropetrovsk Oblast's eastern villages evacuating families as Russian troops close in
Illustrative purposes only: The police evacuation unit "White Angels" is evacuating a large family with five children from the village of Yelyzavetivka in Donetsk Oblast on Nov. 14, 2024, in the Pokrovsk district, Ukraine. Liberova Vlada/ Libkos/Getty Images)

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast authorities on April 28 announced mandatory evacuations of families with children from four eastern villages, as Russian forces advance toward the region's administrative border.

The evacuation order, issued by Governor Serhii Lysak on April 25, concerns the villages of Kolona Mezhova, Novopidhorodne, Raipole, and Sukhareva Balka in the Mezhova community.

Anxiety in the area mounts as Russian forces reportedly stand only some 5-15 kilometers (3-9 miles) from the settlements, which lie near the administrative border between Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk oblasts.

Residents will be evacuated by vehicles and were asked to pack documents, money, medicine, water, and food for a few days, along with other necessities.

While Donetsk Oblast has been the epicenter of Russia's aggression against Ukraine since 2014 — with significant escalation after the full-scale invasion in 2022 – Russian forces have not yet entered Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

Moscow nevertheless regularly targets Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with drones, missiles, and aerial bombs, inflicting heavy civilian casualties.

Russia's advance in Ukraine has not relented despite the U.S.'s efforts to broker a peace deal and Kyiv's calls for an unconditional ceasefire.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a three-day truce on May 8-10 to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, a proposal met by skepticism from Ukraine.

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The estimated Russian advance (red) near the administrative borders between Donetsk (east) and Dnipropetrovsk (west) oblasts in Ukraine as of April 29, 2025, according to DeepState. (DeepState/OpenStreetMaps)
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Martin Fornusek

Senior News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

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