Russian occupation authorities in Zaporizhzhia Oblast plan to move 70,000 residents deeper into the occupied territories, a top Moscow-installed proxy Andrey Kozenko told Russian state-owned news agency TASS on May 5.
Kozenko said the displacement had already started in the Polohy district, from which 500 civilians were relocated to the Russian-occupied city of Berdiansk.
Earlier, Yevgeny Balitsky, the head of Russian occupation authorities in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, announced the partial displacement of residents of 18 front-line settlements.
Yevhen Balytskyi called the displacement "evacuation" caused by alleged "increased enemy's shelling" of the Russian-occupied settlements.
The settlements include Tymoshivka, Smyrnivka, Tarasivka, Orlianske, Molochansk, Kuibysheve, Pryshyb, Tokmak, Mala Bilozerka, Vasylivka, Velyka Bilozerka, Dniprorudne, Mykhailivka, Kamianka-Dniprovska, Enerhodar, Polohy, Kinski Rozdory, Rozivka.
Last fall, amid Ukraine's counteroffensive in Kherson Oblast, Russian occupation authorities were also conducting a forced relocation campaign in the region, calling it "evacuation."
Ukraine is expected to launch a major counteroffensive in the coming weeks. The long-awaited counteroffensive is seen as a critical juncture to take back Ukrainian territory under Russian control.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
