DONETSK, February 17. /TASS/. The intelligence of the Donetsk People’s Republic has obtained evidence preparations are underway for the evacuation of the Ukrainian presidential office to Lvov, the Donetsk People’s Militia’s spokesman, Oleg Nikitin, said on Thursday.

"According to our sources, the Ukrainian leadership, while building up the offensive group in Donbass, is making preparations for the evacuation of the Ukrainian presidential office, Verkhovna Rada, National Defense and Security Council, Defense Ministry and other ministries and agencies to Lvov. The United States, Britain and other NATO countries have already begun to relocate their diplomatic missions to Lvov. This evacuation is being carried out in case of a failure of Ukrainian aggression against the people’s republics and the following counter-offensive by the People’s Militia for the liberation of Ukraine from Nazis," he said.

Nikitin stressed that "the socio-political situation in Ukraine continues to degrade."

"The exodus of Ukrainian officials and oligarchs is continuing. This process is proceeding on a mass scale. The Verkhovna Rada and some ministries are no longer able to perform their functions, as many legislators and executive officials are absent. Due to restrictions on a number of banking transactions and foreign trips Ukraine’s ordinary citizens have already been able to feel the crisis in the operation of local bodies of power, which have in fact suspended their activity and been destroying archive documents," Nikitin said.