Last minute: After the clashes between the pro-Russian militias and the Ukrainian army in the Donbass Region in the east of Ukraine, it was reported that approximately 70 thousand people from Luhansk and Donetsk regions were evacuated to Russia. While the diplomacy traffic gained speed during the day, the activity in the critical region did not stop. Finally, it was reported that clashes increased at night.
VOLTAGE IS HIGH PHASE
Tensions came to a head in the Donbass Region, in eastern Ukraine, due to escalating clashes and bombs exploded. The leaders of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic, which unilaterally declared independence from Ukraine, called on the residents of the region to go to the territory of Russia. It has been reported that more than 40 thousand people have been evacuated from Donetsk in Donbass to Rostov, Russia, while 28 thousand 950 people from the Luhansk Region have crossed into Russian territory.
CONSEQUENTIAL RIDES
Russian Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations Aleksandr Chupriyan said in a statement, “60 percent of the population evacuated from Donetsk and Luhansk consists of children. We are making 30 different cities of Russia ready for refugees, apart from Rostov,” he said.
While many of the residents of the Donbass Region crossed into Russia with their own vehicles, many buses organized expeditions for the evacuation of refugees. After the inadequacy of road transportation for the evacuation of civilians, additional train services were launched to the Russian city of Rostov and the Donbass Region. About 5 thousand people reached Rostov in the last 24 hours via the railway line.
CONFLICT CONTINUES
The violence of the clashes between the pro-Russian militias in the Donbass Region and the Ukrainian army continues to increase. In the past days, it was claimed that in the region where mutual artillery attacks were carried out, conflicts spread to the villages in the rural areas between the borders of both sides, and there was warm contact between the Ukrainian soldiers and pro-Russian militias in the streets. It was announced that the clashes increased especially at night, and bombs fell on some houses in the Donbass Region. While there is no clear information on loss of life and injuries, all volunteers who can hold a gun due to the mobilization announced by Donetsk and Luhansk are given camouflage and weapons and assigned to the fronts.
WAR CONCERNS RISE
In Donbas, where the conflicts between pro-Russian separatists and Ukraine have been going on since 2014, the whole world is following with concern the possibility of an all-out war in the region with the showdowns between Russia and the USA. The claims of the USA and some Western countries that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine, and the increased military activity in the region, despite Russia’s rejection of these allegations, led to the attention of Donbas. It is stated that the Ukrainian army has dispatched 120,000 soldiers and military equipment towards the Donbas contact line. The photo shows the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stationed in Popasna. (AA-UAV)
