Russia made Ukrainians who refused to flee war-torn towns sign a waiver saying it's not Moscow's fault if something happens to them

• Russian authorities made Ukrainians living in occupied towns evacuate or sign liability waivers.

• If anyone refused to evacuate, they had to sign papers saying Russia wasn't responsible for them.

• Citizens told The New York Times that Russia forced evacuations ahead of a Ukrainian counterattack.

Authorities are telling Ukrainians living in Russian-occupied territories to evacuate ahead of Kyiv's expected counteroffensive. But the majority of citizens are refusing to leave their homes, so the Russian occupation authorities are forcing them to sign papers relieving Moscow of any liability or responsibility for them.

This past week, civilians in occupied regions told The New York Times that Russian leaders abruptly ordered them to evacuate. The numbers of potential evacuees varies depending on the size of towns. About 70,000 people in the southern Zaporizhzhia region were told to leave last Friday, Russian news agency TASS said.