The mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov noted on December 18, 2022, that only 174 Ukrainians moved from Russian-occupied territories of four regions of Ukraine to Zaporizhzhia (south of Ukraine).
Source: The mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov
“Russian troops have started a new round of terror – they are keeping residents who want to leave the occupation on a forced “New Year’s vacation”. In a week, Russian soldiers allowed only 174 people from the captured territories of four regions – Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk to move to Zaporizhzhia. And starting from December 15, and for three days already, not a single person has been released from the Russian occupation,” the mayor of Melitopol explained.
According to Ivan Fedorov, filtration has also increased on alternative evacuation routes. Previously, it was possible to leave the Russian occupation through the Donetsk region or Crimea towards Georgia or Estonia and Latvia. However, the cases when Russians turn Ukrainian cars back on the border between Russia and European countries have become more frequent.
“They [Russian troops – ed.]are so afraid of the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that they are holding all civilians hostage as human shields,” explained Ivan Fedorov.
See also: Russians began mass filtration of civilians in Melitopol in Ukraine’s south
