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Biden convinced Putin will invade Ukraine as separatists began mass evacuation
The Interfax news agency said that Russian-backed separatist authorities in eastern Ukraine gathered children at an orphanage in the breakaway region on Friday to begin evacuating them to Russia. In the same context, US President Joe Biden said Friday he is "convinced" that Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine within the week.
The US News reported, citing Reuters that the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic announced a mass evacuation of the region's residents to Russia earlier on Friday after an increase in shelling. The self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic later issued a similar statement.
According to The Business Standard, Biden said in televised remarks at the White House: "As of this moment I'm convinced he's made the decision."
It added that Biden said the attack could come in the next "week" or "days" and that targets would include the capital Kyiv, "a city of 2.8 million innocent people."
It mentioned that the US leader insisted it was "not too late to de-escalate and return to the negotiating table," but warned that if an attack comes, the Russian president will have "slammed the door shut on diplomacy."
Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine accuse government forces of mortar attacks
It should be noted that the Kremlin insists it has no plans to attack its neighbor, which has angered Russia by seeking long-term integration with NATO and the European Union.
