Ukraine conflict: Russia accused of creating fake crisis in breakaway region

Russia has been accused of trying to stage a fake crisis in a breakaway eastern region of Ukraine to give it a reason to launch an invasion.

Russian-backed rebel leaders in Donbas announced an evacuation of residents, saying Ukraine had intensified shelling and was planning an attack.

Ukraine has denied planning an offensive, saying Russia was spreading disinformation.

There is no sign of any mass movement of people leaving the region.

It comes as the US accused Russia of having up to 190,000 troops massed on Ukraine's border, up from an estimated 100,000 at the end of January. Moscow continues to deny it is planning an invasion.

Leaders of the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk issued their evacuation orders on Friday, telling women, children and the elderly to relocate to Russia, claiming that Ukrainian troops were planning to attack their territories.

Hundreds of thousands of people live in the region, and such evacuation would be a huge undertaking. There is no indication that a mass evacuation is imminent, but Russian state media did report that several buses carrying local residents had made their way to Russia.

Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), said Russia had agreed to provide accommodation for people leaving the region, and that women, children and the elderly should be evacuated first.

The Kremlin later said that President Vladimir Putin had ordered that refugee camps be set up near the border and "emergency" aid paid to people arriving from the separatist areas.

Russia has been backing a bloody armed rebellion in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region since 2014. Some 14,000 people - including many civilians - have died in fighting since then.