Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called for the evacuation of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, which has seen fierce clashes between his country’s forces and the Russian army.
The governor of Donetsk, where Moscow is focusing the brunt of its offensive, said six civilians were killed and 15 wounded in Friday’s strikes.
“There is already a government decision on the mandatory evacuation of the Donetsk region,” the Ukrainian president said in his daily speech. “Please follow the evacuation. At this stage of the war, terror is Russia’s main weapon.”
Zelenskiy warned that thousands of people, including children, were still in the battleground areas of the Donetsk region.
“The decision to leave should be made at some point. The more people leave the Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will kill,” he said.
The authorities were handling logistics and support operations “from A to Z”, he added.
“We will help you. We are not Russia. We will do everything possible to save the maximum number of human lives and to limit Russian terror as much as possible.”