As the cease-fire in eastern Ukraine entered its final hours Thursday, thousands of Ukrainians in cars stuffed with belongings lined up at the border to cross into Russia, according to Reuters.
A commander at the rebel-controlled border post outside the city of Luhansk said 5,000 people had left by evening, joining a stream that he said has continued unabated during the weeklong truce that has failed to end the gunfire and shelling, Reuters reported.
Russia says tens of thousands of Ukrainians have come in the 2 1/2 months since Ukraine's government began fighting separatists in the east, a heavily industrial region with a large population of ethnic Russians, many of whom feel strong ties to Moscow, according to Reuters.
It was unclear how many Ukrainians will end up settling in Russia. Russia's migration service said last week that it had registered the arrival of 90,000 Ukrainians, but few asked for refugee status, which would oblige them to stay in Russia at least six months, Reuters reported.
Air strikes and artillery attacks by the Ukrainian military have infuriated many residents, and many crossing the border on Thursday said they were fleeing the fighting, which has killed more than 400 people since mid-April by the United Nations' estimate, Reuters reported.
With the cease-fire set to expire on Friday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called on Russia to support his peace plan "with deeds, not words," and urged Moscow to stop the flow of fighters from Russia, according to Reuters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged Poroshenko to extend the truce and hold talks with the separatists in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Reuters reported. Poroshenko announced Thursday that representatives of the mutinous regions have agreed to talks with Russian, Ukrainian and European envoys.
Poroshenko has shown no willingness to extend the cease-fire, and his next step may hinge on the outcome of the talks, according to Reuters.