Single child left in Avdiyivka, Donetsk Oblast, hidden by parents – head of Military Administration
Avdiyivka (Photo:National Police)
Despite a government mandate requiring the evacuation of all children, one child remains in Avdiyivka, which is under non-stop shelling, as his parents have him in hiding, Vitaliy Barabash, head Avdiyivka City Military Administration head, was quoted as saying by RFE/RL on April 24.
While authorities are currently unable to locate the child due to the active measures from the parents to keep him hidden, Barabash assured that they will find and evacuate the child.
He also clarified that according to law, children cannot be separated from their families and must be accompanied by at least one parent during evacuation.
This means that anyone who refused to leave Avdiyivka has changed their place of residence and is actively hiding their children from evacuation groups.
“Relatives, acquaintances, even not very familiar people, in order not to go to safer territories – not only in Donetsk Oblast but also in Ukraine in general,” added the mayor of Avdiyivka.
The parents of the child risk being deprived of custody, following government announcements of consequences of defying the mandatory evacuation.
“Guardians are obliged to evacuate with their children from Donetsk Oblast to safer regions of Ukraine. It is the parents’ or guardians’ responsibility to ensure the safety of the child,” said Slovyansk city children service head, Olena Sokolova, on April 1 regarding the mandatory evacuations.
Following the announcement of mandatory evacuation of Avdiyivka, 40 families left voluntarily, while 10 had to be located by authorities.
A government order in late March required families to evacuate children from several Donbas settlements.
Presumably, the measures were taken as a precaution should Bakhmut fall. Bakhmut is currently protecting four near-front cities, said former Aidar battalion commander Yevhen Dykyi.
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