Refused to leave: police say how many people are left in Avdiivka

About 700 civilians remain in the city of Avdiivka, Donetsk region, which is currently under Russian occupation. These people refused to leave the town while it was under the control of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

Pavlo Diachenko, an inspector of the communications department of the National Police in Donetsk region and a member of the White Angel evacuation team, said this on Radio Liberty. "This is not absolute information, but we understand that about 700 residents remained in Avdiivka," he said.

According to Diachenko, during regular communication with Ukrainian law enforcement officers, none of the residents of Avdiivka openly supported Russia and the occupiers.

"When the police crew of the White Angels communicated with people every day, evacuated them, helped them, brought humanitarian aid, no one said to their face that they were waiting for Russia. No, just someone was silently accepting humanitarian aid or something else," he said.

Diachenko also commented on the footage that Russians have been posting online in recent days, showing residents of Avdiivka meeting the occupiers who destroyed their city. "This is not a mass phenomenon," the inspector said.

It is worth noting that before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Avdiivka was home to just over 30,000 people.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, after capturing Avdiivka, which they had previously turned into ruins with their bombing, the Russian occupiers found supporters of the "Russian world" in the city. One of the residents told the propagandists about her hatred for the Ukrainian Armed Forces and how she was waiting for the arrival of the "liberators" from Russia.

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