The eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, which has been particularly hard hit by Russian shelling, has ordered the forced evacuation of families with children from 47 villages near the border.
These are communities in the three districts of Bohodukhiv, Izyum and Kharkiv, the military governor of the region, Oleh Syniehubov, announced on Thursday via Telegram. However, the regional capital was not affected, he added.
The reason for the evacuation was the almost daily shelling of the towns by the Russian army. He promised that all those affected would receive the appropriate humanitarian and legal assistance.
The day before, a young girl was killed by Russian shelling in the village of Lyptsi in the Kharkiv district, just 10 kilometres from the Russian border.
Evacuation measures are regularly ordered by the authorities for areas close to the Russian border or along the 1,000-kilometre front line between Ukrainian and Russian troops.
Ukraine has been fending off a full-scale Russian invasion for over two years.