The Russian invasion has triggered a mass exodus from Donetsk region with almost 3 in 4 local people made to flee, said regional administration head Pavlo Kyrylenko on Friday in an interview for UArazom.

Before February 24, Ukraine-controlled Donetsk region had a population of  1 million 670 thousand people while currently it has only a quarter of that, mere 430 thousand.

‘If you take, for instance, Kramatorsk – back then, it was the second biggest city in the region.. Before February 24 it had 200 thousand people, and now there are only 40 thousand left,’ said Kyrylenko.

The official urged people to evacuate as the situation in the region is rapidly escalating,