Ukraine-controlled territory of the Luhansk oblast is now empty: the last three residents evacuated (PHOTO)
"The last three residents of the village of Novoliubivka in the Luhansk oblast, under Ukrainian control, were evacuated on February 3", - Mykhailo Khutoriansky, head of the Krasnorichenske Military Administration, told OstroV on February 4.
According to Khutoriansky, he had visited these people months ago, trying to persuade them to evacuate.
"We went there with First Deputy Viktor Zozulia and the Luhansk oblast police. Came under fire. Brought aid, food, hygiene supplies, and pleaded with them along with the police to evacuate. But they refused... And I must admit, they looked significantly better then than they do now", - the administration chief stated.
The evacuees are men aged 61 and 72 and a woman aged 70. They have now been relocated to the Donetsk oblast. These were the last remaining residents on the Ukraine-controlled territory of the Luhansk oblast. In other words, the free part of the Luhansk oblast is now completely deserted.
Previously, it was reported that as of February 2, only three civilians remained in Ukraine-controlled Luhansk oblast.
Fierce battles continue near Novoliubivka, with a high number of drones deployed—around 200 per day in recent times.