KYIV: Ukraine on Thursday ordered the evacuation of families with children from Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the largest cities in the eastern Donetsk region still under its control.
The order comes as Russia's war with Ukraine, Europe's deadliest since World War II, grinds through its fifth year.
Russia has long pushed for full control of the Donetsk region, which it claims as its own, and has threatened to take it by force if Ukraine does not cede it through negotiations.
Russian attacks on the two cities have killed dozens of people since early October, while the Russian military is now within 10km (six miles) of their outskirts, according to Ukrainian media.
"We are expanding the mandatory evacuation zone for families with children – it now covers all settlements of the Kramatorsk and Sloviansk communities," Donetsk region governor Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram.
"The security situation is constantly deteriorating. The Russians attack Kramatorsk and Sloviansk every day, hitting residential neighbourhoods, civilian transport, and places where people gather," he added.
Authorities ordered an evacuation of children from parts of the cities earlier this month but had until now not expanded the evacuation zone to cover them in their entirety.
Hundreds of children were still in Kramatorsk and Sloviansk as of mid-October, Ukraine's Suspilne broadcaster reported earlier this month, citing a regional official.
Kramatorsk, which had a pre-war population of some 150,000, has long been used as a supply hub for the Ukrainian military and is part of a so-called "fortress belt" that Kyiv is fighting to retain.