The heads of the DPR and LPR recorded messages about the evacuation on February 16. This is evidenced by the metadata of the video

The video addresses by the heads of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR, Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik, in which they announce the evacuation from the regions, were recorded on Wednesday, February 16. This is evidenced by the metadata of the videos, noted Arik Toller from Bellingcat .

At the same time, Pushilin, in particular, draws attention in his speech to the fact that he is delivering it “today, February 18.”

• Pushilin and Pasechnik's video messages were published on the afternoon of February 18. In them, they announce the start of a large-scale evacuation of the population to Russia, explaining this by the growing tension in the region.
• In response to reports of the evacuation, Ukrainian authorities stressed that they do not plan to conduct offensive operations in the region.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered that 10,000 rubles be allocated to each person evacuated from the DPR and LPR to the Rostov Region; this money will be taken from the government's reserve fund. An operational headquarters was also created in the region to resolve issues related to the placement of new arrivals.