Donetsk, Oct 27 – DAN. The residents of Debaltsevo return back home after they had to fled the town as the war broke out. About 80 percent are already back home, said acting head of the municipal administration.
"Our town is being restored, we come back to peaceful life, and consequently people return after they had to flee. The current population is 19 thousand people, meaning 80 percent are back," said Alexander Reingold.
He added that the pre-war population was 25 thousand, in the thick of the fights about five thousand remained in the town.
Debaltsevo is one of the key railway hubs of Donbass, it was retaken from Ukrainian forces on Feb. 18th 2015. As Kiev forces retreated they blew up communications, 80 percent of the building were ruined. Reconstruction of Debaltsevo was listed as one of the key objectives.