A separatist leader in eastern Ukraine has ordered a full military mobilisation amid a spike in violence in the war-torn region that the West fears could be used as a pretext for invasion by Russia.
Denis Pushilin, the head of the pro-Russian separatist government in the Donetsk region, released a statement on Saturday announcing a full troop mobilisation and urging reservists to show up at military enlistment offices.
The announcement came as a mass evacuation of women, children and the elderly from the rebel-held territories in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to neighbouring Russia got under way.
US president Joe Biden said on Friday he is now “convinced” his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine and assault the capital, Kyiv.
After weeks of saying the US was not sure if Mr Putin had made the final decision, Mr Biden said that his judgment had changed, citing American intelligence.
“As of this moment, I’m convinced he’s made the decision,” the US leader said.
“We have reason to believe that.”
He reiterated that the assault could occur in the “coming days”.
The president’s comments at the White House followed a day of rising violence that included a humanitarian convoy hit by shelling and a car bombing in the eastern city of Donetsk.
Pro-Russian rebels began evacuating civilians from the conflict zone with an announcement that appeared to be part of Moscow’s efforts to paint Ukraine as the aggressor instead.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has announced massive nuclear drills to flex its military muscle, and Mr Putin pledged to protect Russia’s national interests against what it sees as encroaching Western threats.
Mr Biden reiterated his threat of crushing economic and diplomatic sanctions against Russia if it does invade, and pressed Mr Putin to reconsider. He said the US and its Western allies were more united than ever to ensure Russia pays a steep price for any invasion.
As further indication that the Russians are preparing for a major military push, a US defence official said an estimated 40% to 50% of the ground forces deployed in the vicinity of the Ukrainian border have moved into attack positions closer to the border.
That shift has been under way for about a week, other officials have said, and does not necessarily mean Mr Putin has decided to begin an invasion.
The official also said the number of Russian ground units known as battalion tactical groups in the border area had grown to as many as 125, up from 83 two weeks ago. Each group has 750 to 1,000 soldiers.
Lines of communication remain open. The US and Russian defence chiefs spoke on Friday, and US secretary of state Antony Blinken and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov agreed to meet next week.
Immediate worries focused on eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces have been fighting pro-Russia rebels since 2014 in a conflict that has killed some 14,000 people.
With an estimated 150,000 Russian troops now posted around Ukraine’s borders, the long-simmering separatist conflict could provide the spark for a broader attack.
Fears of such escalation intensified amid Friday’s violence. A bombing struck a car outside the main government building in the rebel-held city of Donetsk, according to an Associated Press journalist there.
The head of the separatist forces, Denis Sinenkov, said the car was his, the Interfax news agency reported.
There were no reports of casualties and no independent confirmation of the circumstances of the blast.
Shelling and shooting are common along the line that separates Ukrainian forces and the rebels, but targeted violence is unusual in rebel-held cities.
Adding to the tensions, two explosions shook the rebel-controlled city of Luhansk early on Saturday. The Luhansk Information Centre said one of the blasts was in a natural gas main and cited witnesses as saying the other was at a vehicle service station.
There was no immediate word on injuries or a cause. Luhansk officials blamed a gas main explosion earlier in the week on sabotage.
Russia announced this week that it was pulling back forces from vast military exercises, but US officials said they saw no sign of a pullback and instead observed more troops moving toward the border with Ukraine.
The Kremlin also sent a reminder to the world of its nuclear might, announcing drills of its nuclear forces for the weekend.
Mr Putin will monitor the exercise Saturday that will involve multiple practice missile launches.
Asked about Western warnings of a possible Russian invasion on Wednesday that did not materialise, Mr Putin said: “There are so many false claims, and constantly reacting to them is more trouble than it’s worth.
“We are doing what we consider necessary and will keep doing so.
“We have clear and precise goals conforming to national interests.”
