Ukraine says Russian troops planted explosives at Donetsk facilities

Ukraine's military intelligence said on Friday it has information that Russian special forces have planted explosives at a number of social infrastructure facilities in separatist-controlled Donetsk.

"These measures are aimed at destabilizing the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of our state and creating grounds for accusing Ukraine of terrorist acts," the Defence Intelligence of the State Security Service of Ukraine said on its official Twitter account.

The service urged Donetsk residents not to leave their homes and not to use public transport.

Russian-backed separatists announced an evacuation earlier on Friday and packed civilians onto buses out of breakaway regions in east Ukraine in a conflict the West believes Moscow plans to use as justification for an all-out invasion of its neighbour.

The Russian Federal Security Service did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Ukraine's accusation.