Many fleeing to Russia from eastern Ukraine blame Kyiv for the intensifying conflict.

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AVILO-USPENKA, Russia — Inna Shalpa, a resident of the separatist-held town of Ilovaisk in eastern Ukraine, had no idea where the Russian bus she stepped into with her three children would take her on Saturday. But she was ready to accept the uncertainty, convinced that a wider war at home was imminent.

“We were mostly worried about the children,” Ms. Shalpa, 35, said in the middle of a frantic effort to distribute people among buses parked in front of the first Russian railway station on the other side of the border from Ukraine.

Mr. Shalpa was one of several thousand people who have crossed into Russia after Kremlin-backed leaders of the two separatist republics in Ukraine declared an evacuation of women and children, claiming that the Ukrainian government is about to launch an attack.

Kyiv has denounced the separatist claims as baseless provocation, and many of their moves are seen as a deliberate effort to create panic — potentially as a pretense for Russian military action. But for many residents, the fear of violence is real.

Fighting between the separatists and Ukrainian forces has intensified severely over the past few days, with the heavy use of artillery heard from afar. Some people said they fled because separatist leaders had urged them to.

On Friday, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia ordered the government to pay $130 to every refugee, and the Russian government sent $64 million to regional authorities for the effort. The government of the Russian region of Rostov, which has several crossing points with the separatist areas, has declared a state of emergency.

The Ukrainian government has tried to persuade people that Ukraine is not their enemy. But after eight years of grinding war in Ukraine’s east that has left thousands dead, many people arriving through the Matveev Kurgan border crossing on Saturday were not convinced. Most get their news from Russian state television channels, and years of shelling have taught them to be skeptical of Ukraine’s motives, they said.

Ukrainian soldiers “are standing just six miles away from us and we can hear them very well,” said Lyudmila N. Zueva, 63, referring to sounds of gunfire.

Like many people fleeing, Ms. Zueva, a retired teacher, was traveling to stay with relatives in Russia.

For those like Ms. Shalpa, who couldn’t go stay with relatives and friends, the Russian government has built a tent camp on the border.

Though feelings of animosity toward Ukraine were common among those arriving in Russia on Saturday, some people said they didn’t care who was in charge as long as there was peace.

Yekaterina Novikova was waiting for a commuter train with her daughter and grandson to go to the Russian city of Taganrog. She had to leave her son and his family and she couldn’t hold back her tears.

“We were thinking that it would be better for us to return to Ukraine,” she said. “Now we don’t care, we just want peace.”

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