updates
Tensions increase dramatically
Donetsk rebel leader announces “general mobilization”
2/19/2022 7:29 am
The conflict in eastern Ukraine continues to escalate. The leader of the pro-Russian rebels in the self-proclaimed “People’s Republic” of Donetsk is calling for “general mobilization.” According to the OSCE, there is a “dramatic increase” in attacks along the front line in eastern Ukraine.
The head of the pro-Russian rebels in the self-proclaimed “People’s Republic” of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine has called for “general mobilization”. Denis Puschilin said in a video message that he had signed a corresponding “decree”.
According to the separatists, the attacks continued throughout the night. The insurgents in the Donetsk region announced in the morning that several dozen shells had been fired on their area since midnight. According to the Donetsk separatists, a water pipe was damaged during a shelling. The separatists in the Luhansk region also spoke of several violations of the ceasefire. This information could not be independently verified. It is not known whether there were any casualties in the new attacks.
According to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), there has recently been a “dramatic increase” in attacks along the front line in eastern Ukraine. The organization registered hundreds of cases of shelling in the conflict zone. In the Luhansk region, 648 ceasefire violations were detected, including 519 explosions, according to an OSCE statement published late Friday evening. For the Donetsk region, 222 violations were reported, including 135 explosions.
Hundreds of thousands of people should leave Donetsk
Meanwhile, evacuations from towns and villages in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions continued. According to the Donetsk separatists on Saturday morning, more than 6,000 people, including 2,400 children, have already been brought to safety. Accommodation is available for these people in the Rostov region in southern Russia.
According to the authorities, a total of 700,000 people are to be brought to safety from the Donetsk region. Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government in Moscow to help the refugees. Among other things, 10,000 rubles (around 116 euros) should be paid out per person. On Friday, the separatist leaders called for people to flee, citing an impending attack by Ukrainian government troops as the reason for their appeal. The Ukrainian military had said it was not planning an offensive against the region.
Since 2014, Western-backed government troops have been fighting Russian-backed separatists in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, not far from the Russian border. According to UN estimates, more than 14,000 people have already been killed, mostly in the separatist area. A peace plan from 2015 mediated by Franco-German mediation is not implemented.