"On the situation in the Graivoron district: the cleaning of the territory by the Ministry of Defence together with law enforcement agencies continues," the governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on the Telegram messaging app.

"I now appeal to the residents of the Graivoron district, who ... temporarily left their homes, it is not possible to return yet."

Gladkov said one woman died during the evacuation on Monday and reportedly two people were wounded but Russian security forces have not been able to reach them.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Tom Hogue)