More than 142 thousand of Donbas residents evacuated to Russia

Moscow, SANA- The number of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics’ residents evacuated to Russia since February 18 has exceeded 142,000 people, with another 5,000 arriving overnight, the law enforcement agencies told TASS on Thursday.

“As of the morning of March 3, more than 142,400 Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics’ residents crossed the border with Russia,” the source said. This number includes more than 88,700 Ukrainian citizens of Ukraine, more than 53,000 Russian citizens, and 646 citizens of other states.”

More than 18,500 Donbass evacuees are in 262 temporary shelters in 23 regions of Russia. The rest are staying with relatives and acquaintances.

On February 18, the heads of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin, announced the evacuation of the republics’ residents to Russia, due to the growing threat of hostilities.

Ruaa al-Jazaeri