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ROSTOV, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 20: Civilians' evacuation continues from Donetsk and Lugansk, located in Donbas region, to Rostov, on Sunday.Pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine ordered a mass evacuation of citizens to Russia on Friday evening (Feb. 19).The Rostov regional authorities will provide 3,274 places at temporary accommodation centers for citizens of the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk (DPR and LPR), added Russian TASS News Agency.Leaders of the two separatist regions, Donetsk and Lugansk, claimed that Ukraine is preparing a military offensive in the region, and said they will prioritize the evacuation of women, children, and the elderly to the Rostov region across the border.Ukraine denied the allegations. Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny said Kyiv does not plan "any offensive operations or shelling of civilians in Donbas."Tensions have risen dramatically in eastern Ukraine this week, with a growing number of cease-fire violations, multiple shelling incidents, and evacuation of civilians from the pro-Russian separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.Moscow, according to Ukrainian officials and NATO, has recently amassed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine, prompting fears that the Kremlin could be planning a military offensive against its former Soviet neighbor.Denying that it is preparing to invade, Russia has accused Western countries of undermining its security through NATO's expansion toward its borders. (Footage by Denis Abramov /Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)