On February 18, the situation in Donbass escalated sharply. The head of the Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin, said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to order the military to go on the offensive in order to "implement the invasion plan on the territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics". In response, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry denied the information about the preparation of the offensive and accusations of shelling settlements in Donbass, saying that the Ukrainian military complies with the Minsk agreements.
On February 18, the heads of the DPR and LPR Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik announced the population's evacuation to the Rostov region. By February 20, the heads of almost 30 regions of the Russian Federation declared their readiness to accept refugees from Donbass. In addition, Putin instructed to pay 10,000 rubles to each refugee. To date, more than 40,000 people have been evacuated from the DPR and LPR, more than 30 thousand residents of the republics have crossed the state border of the Russian Federation in the Rostov region in a day. A state of emergency has now been declared in the region.
Now a general mobilization has been announced in the DPR and LPR. Leonid Pasechnik adressed the men "who are able to hold weapons in their hands and stand up for their land".
On the night of February 20, the DPR and LPR accused Kiev of shelling using shells prohibited by the Minsk agreements. The people's militia of the LPR also declared the death of two civilians.
Meanwhile, world leaders are discussing the escalation in Ukraine at the Munich Security Conference. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, condemned the use of heavy weapons in the region and welcomed "Ukraine's reserved stance in the face of provocations." He said that Europe sees no grounds for accusations from the DPR and LPR about the imminent offensive of Ukraine.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also commented on the situation. He noted that a Russian invasion of Ukraine is inevitable. Johnson is convinced that a Russian attack could spark the biggest war in Europe since 1945.
Today, Russian and French Presidents Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron are holding a telephone coversation on the situation in Ukraine. The conversation began at 13:00 Moscow time, according to the Elysee Palace.
