By Staff, Agencies The head of the breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic [DPR] in eastern Ukraine announced on Saturday that he ordered the mobilization of all able men in response to massive shelling along the frontline. “I urge compatriots who are in the [army] reserve to come to military enlistment offices,” Denis Pushilin said in a video address.

“I call on all men in the republic capable of carrying arms to stand in defense of their families, their children, wives, mothers.” Pushilin said the DPR will “hold off Kiev’s aggression.” He added that DPR forces were responding to shelling by the Ukrainian Army.

The DPR said that Kiev began shelling villages along the frontline with heavy artillery on Thursday, and the barrage continued throughout Friday and on Saturday morning.

The Ukrainian military, meanwhile, accused the DPR of violating the ceasefire dozens of times on Friday and shelling multiple villages in Kiev-controlled areas.

Alexey Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, denied that Kiev was planning to attack the DPR and the neighboring Lugansk People’s Republic [LPR].

Fearing further escalation, the DPR and LPR started evacuating civilians to Russia on Friday.

Evgeny Katsavalov, a senior government official in Lugansk, said 25,000 people have already left the LPR for Russia.

He added that the authorities are in the process of organizing the evacuation of 10,000 residents, including 100 children from two orphanages