DONETSK, February 19. /TASS/. People are being evacuated from Artyomovsk neighborhoods controlled by Russian forces, Mayor of Shakhtersk Alexander Shatov told TASS on Sunday.

"Local residents are being evacuated from Artyomovsk’s suburbs. They are being taken to Shakhtersk," he said, adding that 50 people will be accommodated at temporary accommodation centers.

Artyomovsk, a major transport hub used as a logistics center for the Ukrainian army, is located in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People’s Republic. Fierce fighting for the control of the city continues. Russian forces took a number of settlements in Artyomovsk’s environs, including Kleshcheyevka, Podgornoye, and Paraskoviyevka.