Parents are reluctant to hand over their children to local authorities to avoid mandatory evacuations in the strategically important town of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine amid warnings of a rapid advance by Russian troops, CNN reports.
Local authorities are urging residents in and around Pokrovsk to leave the city over the next two weeks as Russian troops advance.
Between 600 and 700 people are being evacuated daily, the administration said. On Thursday, the national railway network said at least 371 people had evacuated Pokrovsk by train, with the network having to add nine carriages to accommodate the large number of people.
In Ukraine’s Donetsk region, children with parents or other legal guardians will be forcibly evacuated from some areas, including Pokrovsk, according to the ministry responsible for reintegrating regions formerly under Russian control.
The frightened parents are understandable, however, as there have been many cases in the past where children removed by the authorities were subsequently lost due to haste and bureaucratic problems.
The Ukrainian military said on Wednesday that Pokrovsk is now the “hottest” front of the war. Troops are repelling Russian attacks and fighting in several locations. It includes the town of Pokrovsk, the nearby town of Mirnograd and 39 surrounding villages.
“Don’t wait. It will not get better, it will only get worse. Leave,” was the stark warning from local official Yurii Tretiak, head of the military administration of Myrnohrad, which is now less than 3 miles from the front line.
But Tretiak says many people are still reluctant to leave, even hiding their children from local authorities, which has encouraged home visits by military administration officials.
“We have cases when parents hide their children. Today (August 20) we will have a meeting with the police to discuss how we will work with such people, how we will search for such parents who hide children and give false information that the children have long since left,” he said, noting that dangers are increasing with some areas of town facing daily attacks.
A forced evacuation was announced in early August in another Ukrainian region, Sumy. Parents who refuse to evacuate their children from Sumy region will have their children taken away and removed, Deputy Interior Minister Kateryna Pavlichenko said.
Safe from war, but in danger without parents
Earlier, Ukrainian refugee children left without parental or custodial care were reported to be often victims of human traffickers. Ukrainian refugees also often lose their children after arriving in the EU, they are removed by the guardianship authorities, separating siblings and breaking up entire families.
The problem of safety and protection of rights of Ukrainian refugee children is very urgent. The media reported that 430 children were taken away from Ukrainian families in European countries.
The EU authorities have also started to introduce additional demands for Ukrainian refugees with children. Ukrainian parents whose children will not attend Polish educational institutions may be fined 100 zlotys in Poland.
