Faced with such a serious escalation of the situation, the DPR and LPR authorities have taken the unprecedented decision to urgently evacuate children, women and elderly people to Russia.
The evacuation began this evening at 8pm when the first buses provided by the authorities left for Russia. Children living in orphanages and other educational institutions were the first to be evacuated.
At the moment there are long queues of cars at the border crossing points with Russia. People have taken the threat seriously, and are fleeing to Russia, where they will be welcomed with open arms. Vladimir Putin has ordered the Minister of Emergency Situations to go immediately to Rostov-on-Don to organise the reception of refugees, who will be housed, fed and given medical help if necessary. Vladimir Putin also ordered that 10,000 roubles be given to each refugee arriving from Donbass.
The situation has thus become critical and it is to be expected that it will degenerate even more in the coming hours and days, writes Christelle Néant.
More than 40,000 residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR, LPR) arrived in the Rostov region in the south of Russa, acting head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia Alexander Chupriyan told reporters on Sunday.
“More than 40,000 people who were forced to leave Ukraine arrived in Russia. Now they are placed in the Rostov region in temporary accommodations,” he said.
Chupriyan said that there is hot food in each temporary accommodation point, communication has been set up.
The situation along the contact line in eastern Ukraine took a turn for the worse on the morning of February 17. The Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics reported some of the most intensive shelling by Kiev forces in recent months. The shelling damaged some civilian facilities.
DPR emergencies ministry plans to evacuate 700,000 people to Russia
“The DPR emergencies ministry jointly with the local administrations is carrying out the evacuation of people. It is planned to evacuate around 700,000 DPR residents,” it said. “First buses with people from Donetsk are already heading to the border with Russia.”
The situation along the contact line in eastern Ukraine deteriorated on Thursday morning, when the self-proclaimed republics reported the most intense shelling attacks by Ukrainian troops. One civilian was wounded and several civil infrastructure facilities were damaged.
Following a dramatic deterioration of the situation in Donbass, the self-proclaimed republics on Friday announced evacuation of civilians to Russia. Rostov region governor Vasily Golubev has asked assistance from the federal government. Russian President Vladimir Putin decreed to pay lump-sum allowances of 10,000 rubles (129.4 US dollars) to refugees from Donbass.
A Report from Donetsk News Agency, 2022 Kiev forces shell nine Donbass settlement areas
Ukrainian armed formations delivered strikes at the areas of nine settlements in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics within two hours on Thursday morning, expending some 160 rounds of ammunition of calibre over 12.7mm, the DPR Office at the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) said.
The strikes were delivered between 5:32 and 7:42 at the areas of of the following settlements: Kominternovo, Oktyabr, Novolaspa and Petrovskoye in the DPR and Veselenkoye, Donetsky, Zolotoye-5, Nizhneye Lozovoye and Sokolniki in the LPR. The enemy used 120mm and 82mm mortars (expending 67 rounds overall), grenade launchers (90 rounds) and high calibre small arms, the JCCC said.
The package of tighter ceasefire control measures has been formally in effect in Donbass since July 27, 2020. The document bans, among other things, the use of weapons, deployment of hardware next to settlements and engineer works at troops’ positions. Tensions in Donbass mounted after the New Year and Christmas holidays.
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Western Donetsk under heavy fire: 50 projectiles explode in 35 minutes
The shelling incidents were reported from 11.47 a.m. until 12.22 p.m., the total of 46 mortar and grenade launcher rounds hit the city. The fire originated from the direction of Krasnogorovka.
The DPR has been under attack since 5.30 a.m. today, a wide range of weapons is used.
Kiev forces shell nine Donbass settlement areas
The strikes were delivered between 5:32 and 7:42 at the areas of of the following settlements: Kominternovo, Oktyabr, Novolaspa and Petrovskoye in the DPR and Veselenkoye, Donetsky, Zolotoye-5, Nizhneye Lozovoye and Sokolniki in the LPR. The enemy used 120mm and 82mm mortars (expending 67 rounds overall), grenade launchers (90 rounds) and high calibre small arms, the JCCC said.
The package of tighter ceasefire control measures has been formally in effect in Donbass since July 27, 2020. The document bans, among other things, the use of weapons, deployment of hardware next to settlements and engineer works at troops’ positions. Tensions in Donbass mounted after the New Year and Christmas holidays
Power supply partially back in Krasnyi Partizan and Verkhnetoretskoye following shelling
“At 10.55 a.m. power supply via a reserve line has been restored to 242 customers, to a school, a kindergarten and a boiler house; 196 customers remain without power.”
Electricity is fully back in Krasnyi Partizan, while three streets of Verkhnetoretskoye are still off-grid (Fabrichnaya, Krasnaya and Stepnaya).
Local authorities blamed the power cuts on Ukrainian armed forces that have been intensely barraging the Republics amid fears that Kiev is preparing a full-scale offensive against Donbass.