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Ukrainian soldier killed
Rebel leaders in eastern Ukraine announce “general mobilization”
2/19/2022 7:29 am
The conflict in eastern Ukraine is coming to a head. The leaders of the pro-Russian rebels in the self-proclaimed “People’s Republics” are calling for “general mobilization”: “We will protect the Donbas and the entire Russian people,” they say. A Ukrainian soldier is said to have been killed by shrapnel.
The leaders of the pro-Russian rebels in the self-proclaimed “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine have called for “general mobilization.” He signed a corresponding “decree,” said Donetsk rebel leader Denis Puschilin in a video message. It is aimed at reservists. “I appeal to all men in the republic who are able to hold a gun in their hands to stand up for their families, their children, their wives, their mothers,” the appeal reads. “We will protect the Donbas and the entire Russian people.” There was also an appeal in the Luhansk region. Men between the ages of 18 and 55 are no longer allowed to leave the area, it said.
According to the Ukrainian army, one of its soldiers was killed in the east of the country by shelling from pro-Russian rebels. “As a result of shelling, a Ukrainian soldier was fatally wounded by shrapnel,” the military command for eastern Ukraine said. The violence there has recently increased significantly, and both sides blame each other for it.
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 cannot be independently verified.
According to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), attacks along the eastern Ukrainian front line have recently “increased dramatically”. 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.
Fear of Russian invasion
Increasing violence in eastern Ukraine fuels fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. US President Joe Biden said on Friday that he was “convinced” that Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin had already “made the decision” to attack the neighboring country. The invasion is to be expected in the “coming days”. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said there could be “no doubt that we are now witnessing the greatest concentration of military forces in Europe since the end of the Cold War”.
A massive Russian troop deployment, which according to Western figures is now around 150,000 soldiers, has fueled fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine for weeks. Moscow denies any plans to attack, citing that it feels threatened by NATO.
For Saturday, Russia scheduled a major maneuver of its army, which is overseen by Putin himself. Strategic troops and ballistic missiles are to be included, as the Ministry of Defense announced in Moscow. The air force, army units from the southern military district and the Black Sea and North Sea fleets are said to be involved.