Donetsk, Mar 17 - DAN. Some 1,000 refugees from Mariupol have been accommodated in the villages of Bezymennoye and Kachkarskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic Novoazovsky district, head of the district administration Oleg Morgun told the Donetsk News Agency on Thursday.

“At present, we have two temporary accommodation centres in Bezymennoye and Kachkarskoye where some 1,000 Mariupol refugees are staying,” Morgun said.  “After refugee distribution, some are sent to the Russian Federation and others go to their relatives in the DPR.”

All the evacuees are provided with medical assistance and hot meals. The authorities plan to set up more accommodation centers as the refugee flow increases.

The DPR Territorial Defense Headquarters reported that 295 people including 66 children had been evacuated from Mariupol and its suburbs over the past 24 hours. They are currently staying in Bezymennoye’s aid centre set up by the Republic’s Emergencies Ministry.

On February 24, President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation aimed at demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. On the same day, the DPR and LPR forces launched a liberation movement supported by Russian armed forces.  Fighting is ongoing for Mariupol, Maryinka and Avdeyevka. Humanitarian corridors from the port city have been been arranged for evacuation of civilians. *jk