Prelude To War? Russia Claims Ukraine Attempted Attack On Militia Positions

Moscow: As the world prayed for good sense to prevail, Russia claimed on Sunday that Ukrainian forces attempted to attack positions of the people’s militia of Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR).

“At around 5 am on February 20, troops of the 79th Airborne Assault Brigade attempted to attack the positions of the people’s militia in the area of the settlement of Pionerskoye with the crossing of the Seversky Donets River. As a result of the clash, the enemy suffered losses and retreated,” TASS quoted official representative of People’s Militia of LPR Ivan Filiponenko as saying.

LPR is a quasi-state, designated as a terrorist organization in Ukraine. Since LPR declared independence from Ukraine in 2014, an armed conflict has been going on.

The ‘unlawful’ actions of Ukrainian forces resulted in destruction of five residential buildings as well as casualties among civilian population.

A day earlier, Ukrainian army officials claimed that two of their soldiers were killed in clashes with Russian-backed separatists near the border.

“As a result of a shelling attack, two Ukrainian servicemen received fatal shrapnel wounds,” the military command for the separatists said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has once again called for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to find a way to ease tensions between the neighbouring countries.

“I don’t know what the president of the Russian Federation wants, so I am proposing a meeting,” Zelenskyy said at the Munich Security Conference.

Zelenskyy, who met US Vice-President Kamala Harris, stated that Russia could pick the location for the talks.