Ukraine reports 139,000 citizens now evacuated from combat zones

Ukrainian authorities have reported that, under emergency legislation,139,000 citizens have been evacuated from the combat zones in the Ukrainian-controlled areas.

According to the latest Ministry of Defence (MOD) intelligence, the citizens vacated "Ukrainian-controlled areas of the Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kherson regions since July 2022".

"This is just one part of Ukraine's ongoing broader crisis of displacement," the MOD update said.

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"The UN estimates 6.3 million Ukrainians remain refugees, and over five million internally displaced," the update added.

"With a pre-war population of 44 million, a quarter of Ukrainians remain forced from their homes as a result of Russia's invasion".

Last week, the MOD said that Russian operations were likely to be "negatively affected" after the Wagner Group reportedly shot down a "special mission" aircraft during the mercenaries' mutiny.

The mutiny, which came after months of tension between the group's leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and the Kremlin, culminated in Wagner marching on Moscow but stopping short of a possible confrontation with Russian forces.