About 25,000 residents of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) crossed the
border with Russia on Saturday (19/2/2022).
They fled the escalation of violence in Donbass. The refugee wave was
reported by a spokesman for the LPR Ministry of Emergencies to Sputnik,
Saturday.
On Friday (18/2/2022), the LPR and the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR)
announced the evacuation of their citizens to Russia's Rostov Region due to
rising tensions in the Donbass contact line.
"25,000 LPR citizens have crossed the border," the spokesman told the
official Russian emergency minister.
He added that they were civilians using private cars.
The official added, "Currently three more convoys are being formed with a
total of 10,000 refugees."
The influx of refugees is expected to continue as conflict escalates in the
region that declared independence from Ukraine. The Donbass region is
inhabited by the majority of citizens who speak Russian.
Many Russian citizens live in the area. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said
he was not informed of what happened in Donbass and said he did not know if
the evacuation was approved by anyone.
On Friday evening, Russian President Vladimir Putin asked the government to
provide 10,000 rubles (about $130) as emergency aid for each refugee coming
to Rostov.
Regional authorities have established operational headquarters to deal with
the refugees and provide them with accommodation, food and medical care.