Ukraine
Self-proclaimed separatist republic wants to evacuate civilians to Russia
Ukraine: A bombed apartment building in Donetsk. The region’s separatist leaders now want to evacuate civilians to Russia.
© Valentin Sprinchak / Picture Alliance
In the self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, according to officials, “a mass, centralized departure of the population to the Russian Federation is being organized.”
Due to the increasing tensions in eastern Ukraine, “a mass, centralized departure of the population to the Russian Federation is being organized,” said the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Puschilin, on Friday. “First of all, women, children and the elderly will be evacuated … By agreement with the government of the Russian Federation, places for the reception and accommodation of our citizens are available in the Rostov region,” Puschilin said in a video message. “The evacuees will be provided with everything they need. All the conditions for a quick transition to checkpoints have been created,” he promised.
The evacuation of several hundred thousand people is planned, a source in the parliament of the self-proclaimed republic told the Russian news agency Interfax.
Explosions in eastern Ukraine
In recent days, the situation in Donbass has escalated against the background of the deployment of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine. OSCE observers registered about 500 explosions near the line of contact in eastern Ukraine last Thursday evening and Friday morning. This exceeds the number of explosions in the previous days by a multiple.
According to reporters from the AFP news agency, shelling near the village of Stanyzia-Luhanska continued on Friday. On Thursday, a kindergarten was hit in the place controlled by the Ukrainian army. The Ukrainian army and the pro-Russian separatists blamed each other for the incident.
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Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was “very concerned”. Weapons that are banned under the Minsk peace plan are being used, Lavrov said in Moscow on Friday. Western-equipped Ukrainian government forces with weapons and ammunition are facing Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. The sides blame each other for the violence.