The situation in the area of Donbass “escalates” said Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peshkov after the bombings in eastern Ukraine between Kiev and Russian separatists.
The Kremlin is “deeply concerned” about the fire in eastern Ukraine, he said. Putin’s right-hand man said he hoped the West would use its influence in Kiev “to prevent further escalation.”
He dismissed reports of Russian plans to invade Ukraine, but said Moscow was closely monitoring the situation in the rebel-held area of ​​Donbass. The Russian official commented that Russia has begun withdrawing some of its troops that have completed exercises in areas near Ukraine, but “The process will take some time.”
Peshkov also said that Putin had not yet responded to the Russian Duma on the recognition of the so-called “People’s Republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk, the two regions in eastern Ukraine that have seceded from Kiev.
On Tuesday, the Russian Parliament called on the Russian president to recognize the independence of the two regions.
The West has denounced such a move it would destroy any hope of peace under the Minsk agreements.
Peshkov also accused NATO of carrying out an “unscheduled intelligence attack on Russia.” He added that the Russian Foreign Ministry would soon submit to the West its answer to the “problems of security guarantees”.
Vladimir Putin’s spokesman accuses Kiev of provocations and “terrible provocations” and blames Ukrainian forces that they opened fire first.
Peshkov said Moscow had long warned of an “excessive concentration of Ukrainian armed forces” in the immediate vicinity of the contact line, according to Ria Novosti.
“It simply came to our notice then the terrible challenges, we see reports from representatives of the (self-proclaimed) democracies that there is an exchange of fire on the line of contact, that the ‘first blow’ came from Ukraine. This is disturbing information. We continue to watch. “
The contact line, monitored by the OSCE, is located between the two sides.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said this week that Moscow had not yet responded to Western written proposals for security, which were delivered last month in response to previous Kremlin demands.
Videos and photos from a Ukrainian kindergarten allegedly bombed by pro-Russian separatists have been released by Ukrainian authorities.
Earlier, insurgents had complained that Kiev had bombarded their areas with mortars, further exacerbating tensions between Russia and the West. Kiev denied that it attacked the separatists’ positions and complained that the separatists attacked a kindergarten.
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) observers said they had recorded several bombings along the line of contact between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian army on Thursday morning, diplomatic sources told Reuters, raising concerns. of intensity.
theguardian.com
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