>>15667591

UKRAINE ATTACKS DONBASS IN ATTEMPT TO TRIGGER RUSSIAN RETALIATION

DPR, LPR Order General Military Mobilisation as Kiev Continues to Shell Donbass

On Friday, the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) and Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) announced the evacuation of their citizens to Russia's Rostov Region after the Ukrainian army launched an attack against the republics.

The head of the Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin, said on Saturday that he'd signed a decree on general mobilisation in the republic.

"I urge fellow countrymen who are in reserve to come to the military commissariats. Today I signed a decree on general mobilisation," Pushilin said.

The DPR has prevented Ukrainian special services from engaging in several acts of terrorism in the last several days, Pushilin added.

"Large-scale shelling by Ukraine of the territories of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics is underway. Only in recent days, our army has prevented several attempts at terrorist attacks by the Ukrainian special services," Pushilin said.

He said that no matter how events develop, the DPR will be able to contain Kiev's aggression.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine use mortars, grenade launchers, anti-tank missile systems during shelling, while the forces of the Donetsk People's Republic holds back the enemy with return fire, Denis Pushilin stressed.

In turn, the head of the LPR, Leonid Pasechnik, said that he had signed a decree on general mobilisation in the republic and banned men aged 18-55 from leaving the region.

The authorities of the DPR and the LPR started the evacuation of civilians to Russia on Friday, fearing military aggression by the Ukrainian government. The DPR head has warned that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could order a full-fledged offensive against the republics at any time.

About 25,000 residents of the Lugansk People's Republic and 6,600 people, including almost 2,500 children from the Donetsk People's Republic have crossed the border with Russia as of Saturday morning.

On 18 February, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Kiev needs to engage in dialogue with the Donbass republics and come up with a common solution to end the ongoing conflict.

The situation on the contact line between Ukraine and the DPR and LPR has worsened in the last several days, as Kiev has intensified its shelling of the territories of the republics.

https://sputniknews.com/20220219/dpr-head-orders-full-mobilisation-as-tensions-with-kiev-escalate-1093167641.html

>>15667591

MOAR PROVOCATIONS BY CIA BACKED MILITANTS LOOKING TO RUSSIA COUNTER-ATTACK

Gas company comments on blast amid escalation in eastern Ukraine

An explosion in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic was reported around midnight

A gas company from the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) in eastern Ukraine has said that the blasts at a local pipeline were manmade.

“After assessing the damage, [we can say] that the cause of explosions is a sabotage,” Tatyana Bogorodko, the director of Luganskgaz, said on Saturday.

The first blast was reported in the village of Malaya Vergunka outside Lugansk shortly after midnight. The second explosion occurred at a pipeline in Lugansk itself around half an hour later, the company said, adding that dozens of homes have been cut off from the gas supply.

Officials in the LPR and the neighboring Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) reported massive shelling and explosions on Friday and early Saturday morning.

DPR military spokesman Eduard Basurin told reporters that roughly 200 shells were fired by Kiev on Friday, while the breakaway region’s forces prevented three diversions. He added that the shelling occurred in many places across the frontline separating DPR forces from the Ukrainian Army.

DPR officials said that a pumping station was damaged by mortar shells, while RIA Novosti reported that artillery fire from the Ukrainian side destroyed a railway connecting Donetsk with Debaltsevo.

Fearing further escalation, the authorities in Donetsk and Lugansk began the evacuation of civilians to Russia on Friday. Both republics declared mobilization on Saturday.

Mobilization ordered in eastern Ukraine

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Mobilization ordered in eastern Ukraine

The Ukrainian military said the “Russian occupation forces” – a term they use to describe the DPR and LPR – violated the ceasefire 66 times on Friday, shelling multiple places along the frontline.

Alexey Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, denied that Kiev is planning a full-blown assault on the breakaway regions. “There are no orders to liberate our territories by force,” Danilov told reporters at a press conference on Friday, adding that the move would result in “major civilian casualties.”

“That’s why such an order can’t be issued in our country,” he said.

Reports of cross-border fire come amid continuing tensions between Russia and NATO regarding Ukraine. US President Joe Biden said on Friday night that Moscow was “planning to and intend to attack Ukraine in the coming week – in the coming days.”

Russia has repeatedly denied plans to attack its neighbor and accused the West of stirring up tensions.

https://www.rt.com/russia/549946-lugansk-gas-pipeline-blast/