2022 evacuation of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic

The 2022 evacuation of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic refers to mass evacuation of the residents of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) to the Russian Federation starting in February 2022.

Evacuation

On 18 February 2022, the leader of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, announced that DPR inhabitants were to evacuate to Russia due to the threat of attack from Ukraine.^{[citation needed]} Later, Leonid Pasechnik, head of the LPR, did the same, and announced that the LPR civilian population was to be evacuated to Russia.^{[better source needed]} However, Ukraine denied the allegations of starting an offensive against the two republics. The first train for the evacuation departed to Russia on 19 February. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Russia, 50,000 evacuees from the Donbas had arrived in Russia in the first two days since the announcement of the evacuation.

Ukrainian authorities reported that most people in Donetsk and Luhansk did not leave their homes. Some citizens evacuated out of fear of the Russian authorities, rather than allegations of a Ukrainian offensive. Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary to Russian president Vladimir Putin, said that he had no information of what was happening in the DPR.

See also

• Russian filtration camps of Ukrainians
• War crimes in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine § Deportations

References

1. Главы "ДНР" и "ЛНР" объявили об эвакуации населения [The heads of "DNR" and "LNR" announced the evacuation of the population]. Deutsche Welle (in Russian). 2022-02-18. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
2. "Russian-backed separatists to evacuate civilians from eastern Ukraine, stoking invasion fears". NBC News. 19 February 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
3. Главы ДНР и ЛНР объявили о начале массовой эвакуации населения в Россию [The heads of the DNR and LNR announced the beginning of mass evacuation of the population to Russia]. Ria Novosti (in Russian). 2022-02-18. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
4. У "ДНР" і "ЛНР" оголосили евакуацію населення в Росію. Україна заперечує наступ [The "DPR" and "LPR" announced evacuation of the population to Russia. Ukraine denies an attack]. BBC News Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-03-16.
5. Более 53 тысяч беженцев из ЛНР и ДНР пересекли границу России [More than 53 thousand refugees from the LNR and DNR crossed the Russian border]. RIA Novosti. 2022-02-20. Archived from the original on 2022-02-20. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
6. Как на самом деле проходит эвакуация из Донецка [How is the evacuation from Donetsk really going?]. Радіо Свобода (in Ukrainian). 2022-02-19. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
7. У Кремлі не змогли підтвердити, що план евакуації з "ДНР" узгоджений з РФ [The Kremlin could not confirm that the evacuation plan from the "DNR" was agreed with the Russian Federation]. Slovo i Dilo (in Ukrainian). 2022-02-18. Retrieved 2022-03-16.