Children to be forcibly evacuated from Bakhmut: Ukrainian official shares details

Children will be forcibly evacuated from Bakhmut, as the Cabinet of Ministers approved the relevant mechanism on 7 March.

Last year, Ukraine adopted a resolution on mandatory evacuation, which was announced only in Donetsk Oblast. 

The new resolution was adopted as an extension of the mandatory evacuation from the combat zone, said Iryna Vereshchuk, Minister of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories, on air during the national joint 24/7 newscast on 8 March. 

Vereshchuk explained how children will be evacuated from Bakhmut and whether they will be separated from their families if their parents refuse to leave.

"We have a gradation system: territories that are encircled and blocked; areas where active combat actions are taking place, and areas where combat actions are possible. All this is noted by the General Staff and the Ministry of Defence for submitting to the Oblast Military Administration," Vereshchuk said.

Currently, intense combat actions are taking place in 132 hromadas [administrative units designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories – ed.]. However, only Bakhmut will be subject to forced evacuation, Vereshchuk emphasises.

"Due to mistakes, due to what we saw during the mandatory evacuation, we realised that our Defence Forces, National Police, State Emergency Service, and Oblast Military Administration lacked the tools needed. So we have expanded this toolkit for our evacuation teams that take children away from the shelling.

There are several safeguards there; we are aware that there is no abuse, so that people do not worry [about the children]," the minister said.

Iryna Vereshchuk assures that children will not be separated from their families and will not be evacuated unaccompanied. 

Mandatory evacuation of children will be carried out in presence of one of their parents, a person in loco parentis or another legal representative. 

"In no case will we separate a child from his or her family. If an adult makes the decision, he or she must sign the appropriate form and refuse to be evacuated.

If there is a young dependent child, this option does not work for one of the adults. They are obliged to accompany the child to the place of evacuation," says Vereshchuk.

When asked what will happen to children if their parents categorically refuse to leave, the minister replied:

"The experience of the past month shows that if our National Police or evacuation teams arrive at a place where a child is with an adult, people usually do not refuse. The main thing for us is to find these locations."

Background:

• There are currently 38 children in Bakhmut. According to Vereshchuk, 12,000 children lived in the city until August.
• "Children in the war zone cannot take care of themselves. Therefore, adults are responsible for them. Refusal by parents or guardians to evacuate a child is not allowed. It is about their lives," the Ministry of Reintegration added.

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