Vereshchuk asks people to leave occupied Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts: there will be fighting

KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO — FRIDAY, 8 JULY 2022, 22:42

Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine is calling on residents of the occupied areas of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts to evacuate by all possible means.

Source: Vereshchuk during the joint 24/7 newscast

Quote from Vereshchuk: "No matter how difficult it is in the territory that is currently controlled by the Ukrainian government… all the same, staying in Kherson or Zaporozhzhia oblasts is many times worse and many times more dangerous in any case."

"Even if they are deported to Russia, we will still find a way to help people return. Even if we have to go through the Crimea, when we are talking about Kherson Oblast, it has to be done, we have to move in this direction. We must look for an opportunity to leave, because our Armed Forces will de-occupy [the occupied territories - ed.]. It will be a huge fight. I do not want to scare anyone, everyone understands everything anyway."

Details: The Deputy Prime Minister urged people to "evacuate by all available means."

When asked if there is now the possibility of evacuation from the occupied south of Ukraine, Vereshchuk said: "There is, and people are aware of it. The horizontal communication system works very well. Those who have left have and know the routes. There are volunteers, and we are joining in. I won't talk about it publicly now, because it's the safety of the people who are taking our people there today, evacuating them from this hell they find themselves in."

The Deputy Prime Minister explained that the Russians are using Ukrainians in the occupied territories as human shields.

"Our artillery has to be able to operate, because de-occupation includes the use of armed force. And if there are civilians there and, God forbid, women and children, imagine how our Armed Forces are supposed to behave," she said.

In addition, Vereshchuk said that in the city of Polohy, Zaporozhzhia Oblast, "there are already reports where they want to take children to orphanages if the children will not go to schools or kindergartens under Russian jurisdiction." She stressed that "it is better not to bring the situation to such a critical point."

Reminder: Vereshchuk had previously called on residents of the occupied Kherson Oblast to leave the oblast by the routes that the Russians allow, in particular through occupied Crimea. However, Zaporozhzhia Oblast was not mentioned at that time.