Over 204 thousand Ukrainians evacuated to Russia

Moscow, March 9 (Prensa Latina) Over 204,000 people were evacuated from Ukraine to Russia, including 178,000 from the Donbass region, who began arriving in the country on February 18th, national authorities reported.

According to the data, about 26 thousand Russians, Ukrainians and citizens other nationalities arrived in Russia through checkpoints in the Belgorod, Briansk, Kursk regions and the Republic of Crimea.

Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24th, after the heads of the self-proclaimed people’s republics of Donetsk (DPR) and Lugansk (PRL) requested help to repel the increase in aggression from Kiev.

Moscow recognized the independence and sovereignty of both territories and signed treaties of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance with their leaders, which included the establishment of diplomatic relations and military aid.

Russian President Vladimir Putin pronounced a speech to report on the beginning of the operation, stating that the goal is to protect the population of Donbass from abuses and genocide by Kiev over the past eight years and to “demilitarize” Ukraine.