ROSTOV-ON-DON. May 5 (Interfax) - Some residents of populated localities situated near the line of contact in the northeastern part of the Zaporozhye region have started being evacuated to safer areas, Andrei Kozenko, deputy chief of the Zaporozhye regional administration for economic affairs, told journalists on Friday.
"We assume that, in total, about 70,000 people will be relocated. The relocation process in the Pologi district has begun today," Kozenko said.
About 500 people from said district have been evacuated to Berdyansk in the southern part of the region, he said.
People are being evacuated voluntarily, and there are no reasons to panic, Kozenko said. Meanwhile, teaching and educational processes in towns and villages close to the contact line has been suspended, while some medical services still remain available.