Rebel leader in east Ukraine announces civilian evacuation

A separatist leader in eastern Ukraine has announced the evacuation of civilians to Russia amid soaring tensions.

Denish Pushilin, the head of the separatist government in the Donetsk region, said in a statement Friday that women, children and the elderly will be evacuated first, and that Russia has prepared the necessary facilities to accommodate them.

The move comes amid a spike in shelling across the line of contact between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed rebels in the region in recent days that fueled Western fears that Moscow could use it as a pretext for an invasion. The separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted in 2014 and has killed over 14,000 people.