Russian region declares emergency over Ukraine refugees
Gulf Times
People carry their belongings as they cross the Russian border check point as a rescuer of the Russian Emergency Ministry looks on near the town of Uspenka, on February 19, 2022.
A Russian region bordering Ukraine declared a state of emergency on Saturday citing growing numbers of people arriving from separatist-held areas in Ukraine after they received evacuation orders.
"Given the trend of increasing numbers of people arriving, we consider it appropriate to introduce a state of emergency," the Rostov region's governor Vasily Golubev said in a meeting, according to Russian news agencies.
The leaders of two pro-Russian separatist republics in eastern Ukraine on Friday ordered civilians to cross the border into Russia, accusing the Ukrainian army of preparing to try and retake the regions by force.
The conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted in 2014 when Moscow-backed rebels broke away from Kyiv and Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula. Some 14,000 people have been killed in fighting since then.
