Ukraine Orders Evacuations From Donetsk Towns as Russian Forces Advance

On Sunday, Ukrainian officials ordered evacuations from some areas of the eastern Donetsk Oblast as Russian forces are making gains.

Vadym Filashkin, the Ukrainian governor of Donetsk, said he ordered the mandatory of children and their parents from several villages. “The enemy is bombing the towns and villages of these communities every day, so it was decided to evacuate children with their parents or other legal representatives,” he said, according to AFP.

Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the capture of the Donetsk village of Novoselovka Pervaya as part of a push toward the city of Pokrovsk, which is used as a major supply hub for Ukrainian forces in the region.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Sunday that Ukraine lost 365 soldiers in fighting around Novoselovka Pervaya in the previous 24-hour period.

As the fighting rages in Donetsk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed Ukraine had received its first shipment of US-made F-16 fighter jets. But the planes and other military aid from NATO are not expected to turn the tide on the battlefield.

Zelensky recently began floating the idea of holding peace talks with Russia, marking a shift in his position as he previously ruled out the idea altogether. But there’s been no sign that the US would support negotiations as any deal that cedes territory to Russia would hurt the election chances of Vice President Kamala Harris, who’s expected to be the Democratic nominee after President Biden dropped out of the race.