Eastern Ukrainians being evacuated to Russia, announces separatist leader
Global News
A separatist leader in eastern Ukraine has announced the evacuation of civilians to Russia amid soaring tensions between the two countries.
Separatists in eastern Ukraine announced Friday they are evacuating civilians to Russia, as spiking tensions in the region aggravated Western fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine and a new war in Europe.
It was the latest in a cascade of developments this week that have brought East-West relations to their lowest point in decades. U.S. and European officials, focused on an estimated 150,000 Russian troops posted around Ukraine’s borders, fear the long-simmering separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine could provide the spark for a broader attack.
Russia announced massive nuclear drills Friday to flex its military muscle, while the West sought ways to keep the peace. U.S. leaders issued their most dire warnings yet that Moscow could order an invasion of Ukraine any day.
Immediate worries focused on the volatile front lines of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east, where a surge of shelling Thursday tore through the walls of a kindergarten and basic communications were disrupted.
The separatist conflict between Ukrainian government forces and Moscow-backed separatists erupted in 2014 and has killed over 14,000 people.
Denish Pushilin, the head of the separatist government in the Donetsk region, said women, children and the elderly will be evacuated first, and that Russia has prepared facilities to accommodate them.
The drumbeat of warnings that a larger conflict could start at any moment continued Friday after U.S. President Joe Biden warned that Washington saw no signs of a promised Russian withdrawal — but instead saw more troops moving toward the border with Ukraine.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. believes Russia could launch an attack “any time” and also said he still had seen no sign of the promised Russian pullback. He will hold a call Friday with Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
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