Empty classroom at schoolLUHANSK, Feb 18Orphanages and boarding schools of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic are being evacuated to the Russian Federation, the head of the Republic's Ministry of Education, Andrey Lustenko, said on Friday. The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin, said earlier that he was organizing a mass evacuation of the population from the DPR from Friday in connection with the threat of Ukraine's invasion. The head of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic, Leonid Pasechnik, also called on residents to evacuate to the Russian Federation. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that he did not know what was happening in the Donbass against the backdrop of Pushilin's statements about the evacuation of the population to Russia. Peskov also noted that he does not know if this was agreed with someone.
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«All educational organizations in which minors permanently reside, I mean, first of all, orphanages and boarding schools, in order to ensure the safety of pupils, these organizations will be evacuated to the territory of the Russian Federation for the necessary and, I am sure, short time,» — the minister said in a statement provided to journalists. «For us, it has always been, is and will be to ensure the safety of our citizens, and this applies to our children to the greatest extent. That is why now the educational process in all educational organizations must be suspended until the situation normalizes. Everything, what will be missed, we will be able to catch up later by intensifying the educational process,» the statement says. According to him, the evacuation process will be organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other ministries and departments of the republic.
In Donetsk, the evacuation of residents has begun»On the normalization of the situation, all organizations will be immediately returned to the territory of the republic,» Lustenko said. Representatives of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics said on Thursday morning that the armed forces of Ukraine opened fire on their positions. Ruslan Yakubov, head of the DPR office at the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire, told RIA Novosti that Kiev is ignoring the Minsk agreements by using mortars and artillery. Representative of the LPR in the political subgroup Rodion Miroshnik told RIA Novosti that by shelling the territory of the republics of Donbass from heavy weapons, Kiev purposefully violates the ceasefire measures in Donbass signed in the summer of 2020. The representative of the People's Militia of the DPR emphasized that the artillery armament of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, prohibited by the Minsk agreements and located in positions near the settlements of Donbass, indicates preparations for a forceful solution. Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov claims that Kiev is not planning any forceful actions and military operations. As he stated on Thursday, Ukraine intends to act in a politico-diplomatic way.