Head of Ukrainian separatists announces mass evacuation
The head of the Russia-backed separatist states in Ukraine has announced a mass evacuation of citizens in what may be part of a plan to trigger a Russian intervention in Ukraine.
Denis Pushilin, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, announced that he believed Ukraine was planning to attack the separatist state and said he would begin a mass evacuation of its citizens to Russia on Friday. The Luhansk People’s Republic, another Russian-backed separatist state, announced similar plans.
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In a video statement, Pushilin said he was organising a “mass, centralised departure” of the population to the Russian Federation, adding that “women, children and elderly people are subject to evacuation first”.
He also claimed that he had agreed with the Russian leadership to prepare sheltering points for the population in the Rostov region of south-west Russia. The buy-in from the Russian authorities for what would be a difficult logistical operation to move hundreds of thousands of people could indicate that this is a serious development.
Ukraine immediately denied Pushilin’s claims, as well as others in Russian-backed media that claimed the Ukrainian army was targeting a chemical facility.
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