Putin Orders Aid to Russia's Rostov Region Amid Influx of Refugees From Donbass

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday instructed the Emergency Situation Ministry (EMERCOM) to provide assistance to the southern region of Rostov amid an unprecedented influx of refugees coming from eastern Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Putin held a phone conversation with the acting head of EMERCOM, Chupriyan Alexander, and ordered him to urgently fly to the Rostov Region to organize on-site work on creating conditions for accommodation [for refugees], provision of hot meals and other necessities, including medical care," Peskov said.

The press office of the Russian government told Sputnik that all refugees from self-proclaimed Lugansk and Donetsk people's republics will receive a one-time payment of 10,000 rubles ($129.5) in emergency assistance.

Earlier in the day, Rostov Region Governor Vasily Golubev asked Putin for assistance as record numbers of refugees were arriving in Russia from Donbass amid a sharp increase in shelling.

The order comes as the Donbass republics have started mass evacuations as Ukrainian forces have intensified shelling of DPR and LPR over the past days.

On Thursday, the Lugansk and Donetsk breakaway republics said that Ukraine opened fire at their positions, violating the Minsk agreements. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov claimed that Kiev had no plans to conduct any military operations in Donbass and was set to adopt political and diplomatic ways of easing the tensions.