Overview

• Slavyansk’s city military head Vadym Liakh issued a video appeal on October 9 calling on residents to leave as the front approaches.
• Liakh directed the message especially to elderly people and families with children, saying it is time to evacuate.
• He warned that the upcoming heating season will be extremely hard because the power system is damaged and boiler houses have been destroyed.
• Slavyansk lies in the Ukrainian-controlled part of Donetsk region in Kramatorsk district, about 110 kilometers from Donetsk, and functions as a major transport hub.
• RIA Novosti also notes prior evacuation measures elsewhere and reports that DNR leader Denis Pushilin has alleged forcible removals by groups calling themselves White Angels, claims he says prompted criminal cases.