Nearly 5,000 children are still residing in 30 front-line settlements in the Kramatorsk and Bakhmut districts.

The region has seen daily Russian artillery and aerial attacks, leading to civilian casualties. The escalation of the Russian offensive has particularly targeted towns like Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and Chasiv Yar.

“The situation at the front is getting more complicated, and the humanitarian situation is getting more complicated as well. It is important for us and our Western allies to remember this," Filashkin wrote on his Telegram channel.

The city of Pokrovsk, a crucial logistical center for Ukrainian forces in the region, was put on high alert as Russian forces advanced to within 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) of the city limits. Some 53,000 residents remain in Pokrovsk.

The mandatory evacuation of children and their families from the city was announced on August 19.