Ukraine rebel leader urges residents to leave Lugansk

The leader of a separatist region in eastern Ukraine urged residents to leave — in order to “prevent civilian casualties”.

Separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine’s self-proclaimed republics said rebel authorities will begin evacuating civilians to Russia on Friday as fears of a large-scale conflict grow.

“From today, a mass centralised departure of the population to the Russian Federation has been organised. Women, children and the elderly are subject to be evacuated first,” said Denis Pushilin, head of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) In a video message on the Telegram messaging service, he accused Kyiv of planning an imminent attack on the pro-Moscow breakaway territories.

“The president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in the near future will give the order for (his) soldiers to go on the offensive,” Pushilin said.

The leader of the Lugansk separatist region in eastern Ukraine Leonid Pasechnik also urged residents to evacuate “to prevent civilian casualties”.

“I call on residents of the republic... to leave for the Russian Federation as soon as possible,” Pasechnik said in a statement, saying anyone who had received orders to mobilise or who works in key jobs should remain.

Pasechnik called on “all men able to hold a weapon to rise to protect their land.” Pushilin said Russian authorities and the neighbouring southern Russian Rostov region were ready to accept the civilians and had prepared “host places” for them.

He said rebel authorities were in a “state of constant combat readiness” and were able to protect civilians.

But he called on people to listen to authorities and cooperate with the evacuation plan.

“Temporary escape will protect your life and health, and that of your relatives,” Pushilin said.

He announced the evacuation as fears of a large-scale conflict in eastern Ukraine grow.

The West says Russia could attack Ukraine at any moment, despite Moscow saying it has pulled back some of its forces from Ukraine’s borders

An Ukrainian Military Forces serviceman walks on a trench on the frontline with Russia-backed separatists. Picture: Anatolii Stepanov / AFP

Putin to oversee Russian ‘strategic’ missile drills

President Vladimir Putin will on Saturday oversee military drills involving Russian “strategic forces” which will include ballistic and cruise missile launches, the defence ministry said.

News of the drills come as Russia announces the pullback of troops from around Ukraine, a force that had driven concerns in the West — particularly Washington — that Moscow was planning an imminent attack.

Putin will preside over “a planned exercise of strategic deterrence forces … during which ballistic and cruise missiles will be launched,” the defence ministry said Friday.

The air force, units of the southern military district, as well as the northern and Black Sea fleets would be involved, it said.

The Kremlin told reporters that the launch of ballistic missiles was a “fairly regular training process”.

Russia is planning large drills of its strategic military forces. Credit: EPA

“All the details have been made public in advance,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, dismissing any question or concerns on the drills.

Tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine and European security have been made worse by large-scale military exercises near Kyiv’s borders and also in Belarus.

Even though Russia has announced that some of its troops have been pulled back and returned to permanent bases, the West says it has seen no meaningful withdrawal.

Ukraine and rebels in the east of the country who have Moscow’s backing have been trading accusations over an uptick in shelling between separatist and government-controlled territory.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on economic issues in Moscow on February 17, 2022. Picture: Alexey Nikolsky / Sputnik / AFP

Ukraine says ‘no intention’ to attack separatists

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s defence minister said Friday his armed forces do not intend to attack eastern separatists or launch an operation to reclaim the Russian-annexed peninsula of Crimea by force.

Oleksiy Reznikov told parliament that Russia has surrounded Ukraine with 149,000 troops and that more forces appeared to be on their way.

But he stressed that Ukraine would refrain from giving Russia any reason to attack its western neighbour.

A local resident fills a pothole outside her house near the port of Berdyansk on the Azov Sea on February 16, 2022 in Berdyansk, Ukraine. Picture: Pierre Crom/Getty Images

“Ukraine is stepping up its defences. But we have no intention of conducting military operations against (eastern separatists) or Crimea,” Reznikov said.

“Our mission is not to do any of the things the Russians are trying to provoke us into doing.” “We have to push back but keep a cool head,” he said as fears mount that Russia may use an escalation in fighting as a pretext for launching an all-out invasion of Ukraine.