DONETSK, February 18 – RIA Novosti. The evacuation of residents of Donetsk began due to the aggravation of the situation in the Donbass, RIA Novosti correspondent reports.
The authorities of the self-proclaimed republic distributed information on the places and time of the gathering on official resources. In each district of the city, there are points where people will be waiting for buses. Now children from orphanages are preparing to leave the city, the agency reports.
The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, said earlier that he was organizing a mass evacuation of the population from the DPR from Friday in connection with the threat of Ukraine’s invasion.
The head of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic, Leonid Pasechnik, also urged residents to evacuate to Russia.
This is coming hours after the beginning of heavy shelling by Ukrainian forces in the area
⚡️Breaking⚡️ Donbass correspondent (war gonzo) was driving along Stratonavtov Street in Donetsk at 7am this morning when he recorded this video footage of Ukrainian forces shelling the area. Source: War Gonzo #Donbass pic.twitter.com/NXC00F7LmR
— Dean O'Brien (@DeanoBeano1) February 18, 2022