The situation in the DPR has changed dramatically after the announcement of the Head of the DPR Denis Pushilin about the mass evacuation of the civilian population
According to the text, an operational headquarters was created in the Rostov region, where refugees from the DPR will be accommodated. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the DPR, it is planned to take out about 700 thousand residents of the Republic.
Immediately after the message and the video with the announcement were published, the DPR Ministry of Emergency Situations turned on the sirens. This is what provoked queues at gas stations and ATMs. In addition, a line of people formed in supermarkets who bought essential products. Residents of the Republic rushed to refuel their vehicles, although the DPR authorities provide buses for those who want to leave the territory. The first to be taken out were children from boarding school No. 1.
At the same time there was an interruption in telephone communication. The republican cellular operator “Phoenix” did not differ in stable work anyway, but in such circumstances it began to fail altogether. But SMS alerts still came by the Phoenix user. In particular, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the DPR urged to follow the instructions posted on the television and radio network, SMS informing from Phoenix, as well as received from the relevant specialized services of the city (district). In addition, checkpoints were indicated through which residents of the DPR can leave the territory of the Republic.
Particular attention was drawn to the message from “PS FSB ru”. It said that “The passage of persons across the border was allowed only with passports of citizens of the Russian Federation.” According to a correspondent of the Donbass Decides Telegram channel, men under the age of 55 are not allowed to leave at the border. This is not surprising, since Pushilin’s appeal said that women, children and the elderly would be the first to be taken out. According to my information, buses with refugees will pass the border in a simplified form along the “green corridor”.
Against the background of these events, an explosion occurred in the parking lot in front of the building of the Government of the DPR, the former Regional State Administration. As it turned out, the car of Denis Sinenkov, Head of the People’s Police Department of the DPR, was blown up. Sinenkov himself was not injured.
After 8 pm, I drove to several addresses that were listed on the evacuation list. In the Voroshilovsky, Kievsky and Leninsky districts, as of the evening of February 18, there were no buses in place. Only in front of the building of the Palace of Culture of the XXI Congress of the CPSU were two empty buses. There were no people willing to leave, no organizers of the evacuation. However, the official representative of the People’s Police of the DPR, Eduard Basurin, said that the evacuation would take place even at night.
Despite the above information, according to personal feelings, there is no panic in Donetsk. Yes, most of the streets are empty, but this is normal for a city that has been living under war conditions for almost 8 years. Most of the vehicles are queuing at gas stations. Even empty gas stations came across, but most likely this is due to the fact that they ran out of fuel.
But there are no pogroms, as is usually the case during riots, when people take advantage of the situation for personal enrichment. In stores, at ATMs and at gas stations, people calmly stand in lines without brawls. I admit that there could be individual incidents, but they are not massive. According to polls in Telegram channels, the majority do not plan to leave the DPR. Although on the street I met young couples who were walking along Donetsk with suitcases.
Denis Grigoryuk, Analytical Service of Donbass