PRO-RUSSIAN separatists have ordered a full mobilisation of troops as Joe Biden said he is now "convinced" Vladimir Putin will invade Ukraine.

It comes as the world waits with bated breath to see what Russia will do next after weeks of warnings over a potentially imminent invasion on a scale not seen since World War 2.

Putin is feared to be massing a force of up to 200,000 soldiers, supported by tanks, artillery and armoured vehicles on the edge of the former Soviet state.

The two countries have been at loggerheads ever since Kyiv began to grow closer to the West – sparking Russia to annex Crimeain 2014 and stoke separatists to take up arms in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine.

And all eyes are now are now on the relatively small region, which is currently under the control of two pro-Russian rebel groups, the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR).

Both ordered mass evacuations yesterday as they accused Ukraine of planning an attack – including allegeding they were going to blow up a chemical plant.

Flurries of violence have since been reported overnight with explosions heard and at least one car bomb being detonated in the city of Donetsk.

Denis Pushilin, head of the DPR, said in a video statement that he had signed a decree on mobilisation and called on men "able to hold a weapon in their hands" to come to military commissariats.

Most read in News

 Leonid Pasechnik, signed a similar decree for the LPR shortly afterwards – further stoking fears of a Russian invasion.

And meanwhile, US President Biden said he convinced that Putin has decided to invade Ukraine.

Biden said that the invasion would come in the next week or days – but left the door open for a diplomatic resolution.

"Russia has a choice between war and all the suffering it will bring or diplomacy that will make a future for everyone," Biden said at the White House Friday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was due to travel to Germany Saturday to meet Western leaders, with expected talks between him and US Vice President Kamala Harris.

Biden questioned whether it was a "wise choice" for Ukraine's leader to leave his country as war fears reached a fever pitch.

It comes as:

• Boris Johnson warned Vladimir Putin will "pile the coffins high" with war in Ukraine
• Huge explosions were heard in eastern Ukraine overnight amid fears of imminent invasion
• Britain has moved its embassy in Kyiv some 336 miles away as the tensions rage
• Pro-Russian rebels ordered an evacuation from the Donbas – accusing Ukraine of planning an attack
• Russian invasion troops were seen massing in satellite images – including bridges over rivers that appeared overnight
• Ministry of Defence chiefs revealed a map showing how they believe Russia will invade Ukraine

The United States says that with an estimated 149,000 Russian troops on Ukraine's borders — as many as 190,000, when including the Russian-backed separatist forces — an attack is inevitable.

The Russians have never given a figure for the deployment along the border with Ukraine nor how many are taking part in ongoing drills with neighbouring Belarus.

Compounding fears, Russia's defence ministry announced that Putin would personally oversee previously scheduled drills involving missile launches on Saturday.

"He's focussed on trying to convince the world he has the ability to change the dynamics in Europe in a way that he cannot," Bided added.

It is feared that Putin could use the rising chaos in the Donbas as pretext to move in his troops.

Western intelligence officials have repeatedly suggested that Vlad could use a "false flag" – a staged attack or threat to give them an excuse to invade.

And meanwhile, Putin has signed a decree to call up tens of thousands of army and secret service reservists.

Kyiv denied accusations by the rebel groups that they were planning an imminent attack on the Donbas.

The Ukrainian military said on Saturday it had recorded 12 ceasefire violations by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in the morning after 66 cases in the previous 24 hours.

Separatist authorities also reported what they said was shelling by Ukrainian forces of several villages on Saturday.

Both sides regularly trade blame for ceasefire violations.

Officials told local media that 25,000 people had left Lugansk and more than 6,000 had left Donetsk for Russia. There were reports of long car queues at checkpoints in Donetsk.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, attending the Munich Security Conference, warned the size of the assembled Russian force far exceeded that needed for military drills, and that Russia had the capacity to invade without warning.

France and Germany have urged Russia to use its influence on rebels in Ukraine's disputed east to "encourage restraint and contribute to de-escalation".

But on the ground, a spike in clashes has fed a powerful sense of dread.

Reporters near the front between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the Lugansk region heard explosions and saw damaged civilian buildings on Kyiv's side of the line.

Monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said Saturday they had seen a significant rise in the number of attacks along the front line, particularly in the separatist areas of Donetsk and Lugansk.

Officials told local media that 25,000 people had left Lugansk and more than 6,000 had left Donetsk for Russia. There were reports of long car queues at checkpoints in Donetsk.

Seeking to reverse the aggressor narrative, Moscow-backed leaders have accused Kyiv of planning an offensive to retake the eastern territories. The evacuations of civilians there were said to be in response to worries about a government attack.

Russian news agencies quoted officials in Lugansk saying there had been two explosions within an hour on a gas pipeline but the fires were under control.

But US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who will meet his Russian counterpart for talks Thursday according to Biden, accused the Kremlin of mounting a propaganda campaign to create an excuse for war.

Biden again ruled out sending US troops into Ukraine, but his administration reiterated that it would hit Moscow with costly sanctions that would transform Russia into "a pariah to the international community".

Source: Read Full Article