Evacuees from breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine gave interviews to media outlets as they arrived in Voronezh, Russia, on 20 February.

On February 18, the separatist authorities of the self-declared Luhansk Peoples Republic (LPR) and Donetsk Peoples Republic (DPR) issued calls for people to evacuate to the Rostov region of Russia, warning of a possible attack from Ukraine.

The videos calling for the evacuation purported to be filmed on Friday 18 February but analysis of their metadata by several media organisations suggested they were in fact filmed several days before. The Ukrainian government also denied any intention to attack.

On February 20, a train with DPR and LPR evacuees arrived in Voronezh, via the city of Rostov.

People arriving from Donbas, eastern Ukraine, will be placed in the 'Kirovets' and 'Blue Screen' children camps.

Evacuees were also sent to the Kursk region by train.

In total, about 2,000 people will go these regions, on three trains.

This video shows interviews with the evacuees, their arrival in Voronezh, them sitting on buses, and arriving at temporary camps.

The following are translations of interviews with the evacuees, with time-codes.

(2:37-4:53)
[A woman]
- Oh, I don't know, there was panic.
[Reporter]
- Well, were there shots heard?
[A woman]
- Yes.
[Papina Lyudmila Fedorovna, an evacuee]
- The day before yesterday, such cannonades were fired that I gathered in five minutes. Petrovsky district and nearby Alexandrovka, they shot hard. We have collected everything we need. We thought we were going to Rostov, we took everything we needed in spring. I watched '60 minutes', they told me that they were just firing a cannonade, and I opened the balcony, and there it was - it was already buzzing. It was scary.
[Reporter]
- Introduce yourself, please.
- My name is Papina Lyudmila Fedorovna. I came from Donetsk, Petrovsky District. Very scary.
[Reporter]
- How long has it been going on?
[Papina Lyudmila Fedorovna, an evacuee]
- Here in the 14th year, a shell hit a neighbour. Everything was bombed, the house burned down. And in the apartment I got shell fragments, then the glass was broken, there was a hole in the wall. And the fragment was soldered into the carpet. I then cut it off with a knife.
[Reporter]
- Do you have any relatives in Russia?
[Papina Lyudmila Fedorovna, an evacuee]
- I have in the Far East, Vladivostok.
[Reporter]
- Are you planning to go back?
[Papina Lyudmila Fedorovna, an evacuee]
- Only to Donetsk. I have a house there, an apartment, everything. I pray to God that everything remains intact. And all the people that would have been saved. There are a lot of people left there. Everyone has animals, they can't leave them. A lot of old people lying down.
[Reporter]
- Do you still have relatives there?
[Papina Lyudmila Fedorovna, an evacuee]
- I am alone in Donetsk. I have everything in Russia, and my daughter is in Seoul. She would have taken me, but now the coronavirus does not allow it.

(4:54-6:00)
[Kobylyatskaya Maria Vadimovna, a refugee]
- They helped us with the bags. And then, when you don't know where you're going: at the beginning they say to Rostov, then to Taganrog, then to Voronezh, and just this misinformation throws you off balance.
[Reporter]
- Tell us, what is the situation there now?
[Kobylyatskaya Maria Vadimovna, a refugee]
- Well, they shoot hard and scare a lot. And this siren hum on Friday, when I came home from work and went to withdraw money from the card. You think, well, okay, they warned at work that the troops were going to activate. And then the hum of sirens, you come home, and the children are home alone. You think: it's about to start. In the evening, they say, planes flew, but we didn't go outside anymore.
[Reporter]
- Tell me, are you planning to return?
[Kobylyatskaya Maria Vadimovna, a refugee]
- We hope that 2 weeks and everything will be fine. Because I have a godson, a sister, and a mother there.
[Reporter]
- Tell me your name.
[Kobylyatskaya Maria Vadimovna, a refugee]
- My own?
[Reporter]
- Yes.
[Kobylyatskaya Maria Vadimovna, a refugee]
- Kobylyatskaya Maria Vadimovna.

This footage was filmed and produced 20 February 2022.

On February 18, an emergency evacuation of the population of the DPR and LPR to the Rostov region began due to a possible attack by Ukraine.

On February 20, a train with refugees from the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR arrived in Voronezh. People who arrived from Donbas will be placed in the 'Kirovets' and 'Blue Screen' children camps. The refugees arrived in the Voronezh Region through the city of Rostov.

The evacuees were also sent to the Kursk region by train. In total, about 2 thousand people from the DPR and LPR will arrive in both regions on three trains.

This video illustrates interviews of the refugees, their arrival in Voronezh, their seating on buses, arrival at temporary camps.

Translation of the interviews with the refugees:

[2:37-4:53] Papina Lyudmila Fedorovna, a refugee:

[another woman]
- ..Oh, I don't know, there was panic.
- Well, were the shots heard?
- Yes.
[Papina Lyudmila Fedorovna]
- The day before yesterday, such cannonades were fired that I gathered in five minutes. Petrovsky district and nearby Alexandrovka, they shot hard. We have collected everything we need. We thought we were going to Rostov, we took everything we needed in spring. I watched '60 minutes', they told me that they were just firing a cannonade, and I opened the balcony, and there it was - it was already buzzing. It was scary.
- introduce yourself, please.
- My name is Papina Lyudmila Fedorovna. I came from Donetsk, Petrovsky District. Very scary.
- How long has it been going on?
- Here in the 14th year, a shell hit a neighbor. everything was bombed, the house burned down. And in the apartment I got shell fragments, then the glass was broken, there was a hole in the wall. And the fragment was soldered into the carpet. I then cut it off with a knife.
- Do you have any relatives in Russia?
- I have in the Far East, Vladivostok.
- Are you planning to go back?
- Only to Donetsk. I have a house there, an apartment, everything. I pray to God that everything remains intact. And all the people that would have been saved. There are a lot of people left there. Everyone has animals, they can't leave them. A lot of old people lying down.
- Do you still have relatives there?
- I am alone in Donetsk. I have everything in Russia, and my daughter is in Seoul. She would have taken me, but now the coronavirus does not allow it.

[4:54-6:00] Kobylyatskaya Maria Vadimovna, a refugee:

- ..They helped us with the bags. And then, when you don't know where you're going: at the beginning they say to Rostov, then to Taganrog, then to Voronezh, and just this disinformation throws you off balance.
- Tell us, what is the situation there now?
- well, they shoot hard and scare a lot. And this siren hum on Friday, when I came home from work and went to withdraw money from the card. You think, well, okay, they warned at work that the troops were going to activate. And then the hum of sirens, you come home, and the children are home alone. You think: it's about to start. In the evening, they say, planes flew, but we didn't go outside anymore.
- Tell me, are you planning to return?
- We hope that 2 weeks and everything will be fine. Because I have a godson, a sister, and a mother there.
- Tell me your name.
- My own?
- yes.
- Kobylyatskaya Maria Vadimovna.