Russian-backed rebels say tens of thousands of people have left Donetsk and Luhansk – two rebel-held regions in eastern Ukraine – to cross into southern Russia.
Families making the journey spoke to the BBC about their experiences, with some saying they had not received the food and accommodation they had been told would be proed.
Last week, a Russian-backed separatist leader accused Ukraine of planning an imminent offensive and ordered an evacuation of civilians from Donetsk and Luhansk.
Ukraine said no offensive had been planned and it later emerged that the in which the order was announced had been recorded two days earlier.
