Russian-backed separatist authorities in eastern Ukraine continued evacuating residents of Donetsk and surrounding areas on Saturday (February 19) as several buses were seen leaving for Russia.
The move to evacuate people followed an increase in shelling along the line of control in the Donbass region over the last two days.
Most of the self-proclaimed DPR (Donestk People’s Republic) residents are Russian speakers and many have already been granted Russian citizenship. Ukraine says the people who run the DPR are not separatists but Russian proxies, something the Kremlin denies.
