In Zaporizhzhia district, an order on the mandatory evacuation of underage residents of nine settlements located in the zone of possible and active hostilities has come into force. The document was signed by Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, and supplemented by a directive of the Bilenkivske rural council. According to the text of the order, all evacuation operations must be completed within 30 days of its issuance — that is, no later than 20 September 2026. Exactly one month has been allotted for the removal of children from frontline territories, which, according to RBC-Ukraine, is an extension of the previously established deadlines.
Procedure for collection and transport
The organizational scheme for removal is built on a "door-to-door" principle: a separate collection point will not be established for security reasons. Police and rescue workers collect the children, together with their parents or other legal representatives, directly at their place of residence. The convoys are then directed to a transit centre in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, where families receive initial logistical and household support. This approach, as intended by the authorities, is meant to minimize the time citizens spend in potentially dangerous zones and to reduce the load on the only hub collection points.
Geography and coverage
The operations cover nine settlements in Zaporizhzhia district that, in recent weeks, have come within the range of shelling or in close proximity to the line of contact. The exact list of villages is not fully disclosed in open sources, but it is known that it includes the territories of the Bilenkivske rural council and neighbouring communities. The decision was made against the backdrop of a sustained pattern of shelling of frontline territories, which has been recorded by military and civilian structures over several months.
Beyond Zaporizhzhia: the regional context
Zaporizhzhia district is not the only region where, in August 2026, a programme of forced evacuation of families with children is being implemented. In Donetsk Oblast, the removal of more than 500 minors was announced this month. Similar measures have been introduced in the border districts of Kharkiv Oblast, where the zone of mandatory evacuation of the civilian population continues to expand. Thus, the practice of organized removal of children from frontline zones is taking on a systemic character and is spreading across several oblasts simultaneously.
Contradictory data
There are discrepancies in the wording across open sources: some publications describe the operation as an "extension" of a previously applicable procedure, while others call it a "new" decision that came into force at the end of August. In addition, a number of reports state that the evacuation concerns "two communities," whereas the text of the order and the expanded summaries cite the figure of "nine settlements." Most likely, this refers to different levels of the administrative hierarchy: two communities as governing entities and nine specific villages as geographical units. A full alignment of the versions has not been achieved as of the time of publication.
The situation remains dynamic: the deadlines, the list of settlements, and the logistics routes may be adjusted as the situation at the front changes. Residents of frontline territories are advised to monitor the official channels of the regional military administration and local alert groups.
