Governor of Zaporizhzhia Oblast: More than 280 residents abducted

They kidnap people, we have more than 280 confirmed hostages. They mainly abduct young people to force them to dig trenches and businessmen to take their money, Oleksandr Starukh, Governor of Zaporizhzhia Oblast told Report.

According to him, the people of Zaporizhzhia Oblast have been on the battlefield since the first day of the war.

"The first clashes took place very quickly, and the enemy reached the line where our troops have been stationing for more than two months," he added. "We stopped them on that line. Most of our citizens were besieged at first because the enemy blocked the roads and only after some time began to break into settlements and try to seize powers in the cities. Now the situation is different in various parts of the oblast."

According to him, there is minor damage in some places, such as the Melitopol municipality: "Because Russian troops occupied it on the first day, most of the population left the area and went to government-controlled areas. The rest are also under pressure. The situation is different in the areas under our control, for example, in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, its administrative centre, the city of Zaporizhzhia, in some parts of the Polohy and Vasylivka districts. Ukrainian law applies here, the government is fully operated by Ukrainian law. In the third type of place, there are constant battles. This includes the eastern part of the region - from Komyshuvakha, Orikhiv, Huliaipole, Polohy, and other areas to the Donetsk region. The situation is different in various parts of the oblast. Nothing has changed in the areas under our control, except for the obstacles created by the war and the restrictions associated with the war. Of course, the most challenging situation is in the war zones, also from a humanitarian point of view. More than 100 civilians, including two children, were killed in the oblast. About 500 civilians, including about 40 children, were injured. These are the numbers we still know. Because we do not have access to some areas, some settlements are under blockade, and there are regular skirmishes in some places."

Regarding the evacuation, the head of the region said that Zaporizhzhia has been playing the role of a temporary shelter for people evacuated from Mariupol since mid-March: "More than 120,000 Mariupolians crossed the border into Zaporizhzhia. Over 4 million people have crossed our oblast to safer places. In March and early April, there was a large influx from Mariupol. Then the residents of the occupied regions of our province used this transit. They also have the main advantage in terms of numbers. As for the current figures, we report every day, about 70 people came to our region from Mariupol yesterday. The same number of people came from Kherson. Most of them were from Melitopol and Berdyansk districts, with more than 200 people from each. These are the ones who left those territories. Because they face pressure, that is why people are leaving those areas. There are currently more than 50,000 IDPs in Zaporizhzhia. Others go 'deeper'. The situation in the oblast does not satisfy them. However, we are used to it."