Putin is preparing his major offensive in eastern Ukraine and Kiev warns civilians that it is the “last chance” to be evacuated

Ukrainian authorities warned civilians in eastern Ukraine that the coming days will be “their last chance” to leave the region, before Russia launches a major offensive in the area.

“The next few days are perhaps the last chance to leave,” Luhansk Governor Sergii Gaidai said on Facebook, stating that the Russians “were cutting off all possible avenues of exit.”

On the eve, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk had urged to leave the area “now”, on pain of “risking death”.

Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky warned that Moscow continues to “build up combat forces to realize its bad ambitions in Donbas” in the east.

Authorities from the eastern regions of Lugansk and Donetsk asked civilians to leave the area “as long as possible”, although they were already carrying out missile launches.

In the last few years, Russian forces withdrew from the surroundings of the Ukrainian capital, where they left a wave of devastation and death, a movement that for Ukraine and its Western allies is a tactical regrouping to attack the southeast of the country. “We can clearly see before the enemy starts its all-out attack, that it will destroy the place completely,” Gov. Gaidai told Ukraine's Channel 24.

- Evacuation in progress -

The official said on Facebook that more than 1,200 people were evacuated from Lugansk on Wednesday but that artillery fire prevented any further action. He assured that tons of food, medicine and hygiene products would be delivered to those who cannot leave.

The head of the Donetsk regional military administration said that facilities where civilians receive aid were attacked. “The enemy aimed directly there with the intention of destroying civilians,” Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote on Facebook.

He assured that residents are following calls to evacuate and that the roads have more movement.

In the industrial city of Severodonetsk, the easternmost locality under Ukrainian control, shells and rockets fell on Wednesday at constant intervals. “We have nowhere to go, it's been like that for days,” a neighbor, Volodymyr, 38, told AFP in front of a burning building.

Elsewhere, preparations for countering the attack were under way, as happened on a road connecting Kharkiv to Donetsk.

In order to contain the Russian advance, trenches are dug and the road is full of anti-tank obstacles. Nearby water reserves were opened and the bridges were destroyed.

“We are waiting for you! ”, exclaimed a lieutenant in charge of strengthening the positions.

Faced with this seemingly imminent offensive, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba asked NATO members on Thursday to supply more weapons as quickly as possible.

“I come to ask for three things: weapons, weapons and weapons. The faster they are surrendered, the more lives will be saved and destroyed avoided,” he said upon arriving at NATO headquarters in Brussels for a meeting with foreign ministers of NATO member countries.

- “Brutal and inhuman” -

The urgency to leave eastern Ukraine follows the signs of atrocities elsewhere that were under Russian control.

Thousands of people died and images of corpses found around Kiev, including the city of Bucha, highlighted the reality of the war.

In Washington, US President Joe Biden spoke of the horrors of Bucha. “Civilians executed in cold blood, bodies thrown into mass graves, brutality and lack of humanity were visible to everyone, he has no apology,” said Biden. “What is happening is nothing but serious war crimes,” he added, urging the world to hold those responsible accountable.

The Kremlin has denied its responsibility and claims that Kiev made “mounts” on the deaths of civilians. Putin accused the Ukrainian authorities of a “rude and cynical provocation” in Bucha.

But the German government said on Wednesday that satellite images taken when Bucha was under Russian control revealed that bodies were already on the streets, contradicting Russia's refusal.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, more than 11 million people have been displaced.

In Bucha, where Ukrainian authorities accuse Russian forces of perpetrating a “massacre”, villagers were desperate to learn the whereabouts of their loved ones.

But Tetiana Ustymenko already knows the end of her story. Her son and her two friends were shot dead in the street, she buried them in the garden of her house. “How can I continue to live?” , he asked.

Lyudmyla Denisova, head of human rights in the Ukrainian parliament, said on Wednesday that Russian forces were carrying “mobile incinerators” and heavy machinery to clean up rubble on the streets. He showed on Telegram an image that appeared to be the team mentioned, although it was not possible to verify it.

(With information from AFP)

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