Russia/Ukraine tension: Pro-Russian DPR announces mobilization of forces
ERBIL, KRG, Iraq (North Press) – On Saturday,Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), said in a video statement that he had signed a decree on mobilization and called on men “able to hold a weapon in their hands” to come to military commissariats.
The statement came in the wake that fears of Russia’s invasion to Ukraine has reached climax.
The DPR, supported by Russia, is a self-proclaimed quasi-state that declared its independence from Ukraine in 2014.
Yesterday, the DPR announced plans to evacuate around 700,000 people, citing fears of an imminent attack by Ukrainian forces – an accusation Kyiv flatly denied.
Meanwhile, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said Saturday it had seen a significant rise in the number of attacks along the frontline in eastern Ukraine.
On its part, the Ukrainian military said on Saturday it had recorded 12 ceasefire violations by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in the morning after 66 cases in the previous 24 hours.
The US President Joe Biden said yesterday he was convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin had made a decision to invade Ukraine in the coming days.
The US believed Russia would target Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, Biden added.
“We also will not send troops to fight in Ukraine, but we will continue to support the Ukrainian people,” Biden said, adding “Russia can still choose diplomacy. It is not too late to de-escalate and return to the negotiating table.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Saturday that he had sent a letter to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to engage in dialogue within the NATO-Russia Council to avert a conflict in Ukraine.
Stoltenberg told the Munich Security Conference that there were no signs of a Russian withdrawal from the borders of Ukraine and that the risk of a conflict was real.