With the Ukrainian military pounding the rebel stronghold of Donetsk with artillery fire, thousands of residents have fled the city.

At least one person has been killed and ten injured in shelling on Sunday (August 10), according to the Donetsk city council.

At least 300,000 Donetsk residents have reportedly fled, more than a quarter of the city’s population.

One elderly Donetsk resident told reporters that she was not prepared to abandon the city without her family. “I don’t know where my daughter and grandson are. I won’t leave. I won’t see my grandson again, he was killed,” she cried.

The daily train to Moscow was fully booked with people anxious to cross the border into Russia.

At the station, resident Yelena described why she had taken the decision to leave, saying: “When we were driving through Donetsk, there were tanks and military men. Many times we heard shelling.”

“It’s very scary at the train station. But this is our last chance to save ourselves,” Yelena added.

Kyiv stepped up military operations to retake rebel-held areas of eastern Ukraine in June.