{"id":1314115,"date":"2022-02-19T13:22:39","date_gmt":"2022-02-19T18:22:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1314115"},"modified":"2022-02-19T13:22:49","modified_gmt":"2022-02-19T18:22:49","slug":"pro-russia-separatists-mobilise-alleging-immediate-threat-of-aggression-from-ukraine-govt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-russia-separatists-mobilise-alleging-immediate-threat-of-aggression-from-ukraine-govt\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro-Russia Separatists Mobilise, Alleging &#039;Immediate Threat of Aggression&#039; from Ukraine Govt"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpro-russia-separatists-mobilise-alleging-immediate-threat-of-aggression-from-ukraine-govt%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1314115&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-451092414-e1645285459164-640x335-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">MOSCOW (AP) \u2013 Separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine ordered a full military mobilization Saturday amid a spike of violence in the war-torn region and fears in the West that Russia might use the strife as a pretext for an invasion.<\/p>\n<p>Denis Pushilin, the head of the pro-Russia separatist government in Ukraine\u2019s Donetsk region, cited an \u201cimmediate threat of aggression\u201d from Ukrainian forces in his announcement. Ukrainian officials vehemently denied having plans to take rebel-controlled areas by force.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI appeal to all the men in the republic who can hold weapons to defend their families, their children, wives, mothers,\u201d Pushilin said. \u201cTogether we will achieve the coveted victory that we all need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A similar statement followed from his counterpart in the Luhansk region. With an estimated 150,000 Russian troops now posted around Ukraine\u2019s borders, the long-simmering separatist conflict could provide the spark for a broader attack.<\/p>\n<p>The separatists and Ukrainian forces have been fighting for almost eight years. But the violence along the line of contact separating the two sides, including a humanitarian convoy hit by shelling, has risen in recent days.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThey are uncoiling and are now poised to strike,\u201d U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said during a visit to Lithuania, where he assured the three Baltic nations they would not be on their own if faced with security threats from Russia.<\/p>\n<p>Ukraine\u2019s military said shelling killed a soldier Saturday in the government-held part of the Donetsk region and that separatist forces were placing artillery in residential areas to try and provoke a response.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, the rebels began evacuating civilians to Russia with an announcement that appeared to be part of their and Moscow\u2019s efforts to paint Ukraine as the aggressor.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. President Joe Biden said late Friday that based on the latest American intelligence he was now \u201cconvinced\u201d that Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine and assault the capital, Kiev (Kyiv).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs of this moment, I\u2019m convinced he\u2019s made the decision,\u201d Biden said. \u201cWe have reason to believe that.\u201d He reiterated that the assault could occur in the \u201ccoming days.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>In a sign of heightened worry about an invasion, the NATO military alliance relocated staff of its liaison office in Kyiv to a city in western Ukraine and to Brussels. A NATO official told The Associated Press that safety of its personnel was the top concern.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe do not fully know what President Putin intends, but the omens are grim, and that is why we must stand strong together,\u201d British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told officials attending the annual Munich Security Conference on Saturday.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris at the conference. Harris called the unfolding events \u201ca decisive moment in history\u201d and warned Russia that it would face \u201cunprecedented\u201d financial costs if it attacked Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>Ukrainian officials pushed back against the separatists\u2019 suggestion that Ukraine initiated the latest violence in the country\u2019s east. \u201cWe are fully committed to diplomatic conflict resolution only,\u201d Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted.<\/p>\n<p>Ukraine\u2019s ruling party, Servant of the People, echoed his sentiment in an online statement Saturday and accused Russia of \u201ctrying to artificially create a pretext for a full-scale aggression against Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>Meanwhile, Russia conducted massive nuclear drills on Saturday. The Kremlin said Putin, who pledged to protect Russia\u2019s national interests against what it sees as encroaching Western threats, was watching the drills together with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko from the situation room in the Kremlin.<\/p>\n<p>Notably, the planned exercise involves the Crimea-based Black Sea Fleet. Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula after seizing it from Ukraine in 2014. .<\/p>\n<p>Underscoring the West\u2019s concerns of an imminent invasion, a U.S. defence official said an estimated 40% to 50% of the ground forces deployed in the vicinity of the Ukrainian border have moved into attack positions closer to the border.<\/p>\n<p>The shift has been underway for about a week, other officials have said, and does not necessarily mean Putin has decided to begin an invasion. The defence official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal U.S. military assessments.<\/p>\n<p>The official also said the number of Russian ground units known as battalion tactical groups in the border area had grown to as many as 125, up from 83 two weeks ago. Each group has 750 to 1,000 soldiers.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Russia provided their own take on events, saying the shelling was not by Russian forces but \u201cforces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People\u2019s Republic\u201d \u2014 loyal to and equipped by Moscow \u2014 and was initiated in response to Ukraine shelling them first <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JSZ9nZDl6r\">https:\/\/t.co\/JSZ9nZDl6r<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreitbartLondon\/status\/1494367485625262090?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 17, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Lines of communication between Moscow and the West remain open: the American and Russian defence chiefs spoke Friday. French President Emmanuel Macron scheduled a phone call with Putin on Sunday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed to meet next week.<\/p>\n<p>Immediate worries focused on eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces have been fighting the pro-Russia rebels since 2014 in a conflict that has killed some 14,000 people. Violations of a 2015 ceasefire agreement, including shelling and shooting along the line of contact, have been common.<\/p>\n<p>However, violence has escalated in recent days. A bombing struck a car outside the main government building in the rebel-held city of Donetsk on Friday. The head of the separatist forces, Denis Sinenkov, said the car was his, the Interfax news agency reported. Targeted violence is unusual in rebel-held cities.<\/p>\n<p>Adding to the tensions, two explosions shook the rebel-controlled city of Luhansk early Saturday. The Luhansk Information Centre said one of the blasts was in a natural gas main. The centre cited witnesses as saying the other was at a vehicle service station.<\/p>\n<p>There were no immediate reports of casualties and no independent confirmation of the circumstances of the three blasts. Luhansk officials blamed a gas main explosion earlier in the week on sabotage.<\/p>\n<p>By Saturday morning, the separatists in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, which form Ukraine\u2019s industrial heartland known as the Donbas, said that thousands of residents of the rebel-controlled areas had been evacuated to Russia.<\/p>\n<p>More than 6,600 people had been evacuated from Donetsk, and some 25,000 people have left Luhansk, with 10,000 preparing to leave, separatist officials said.<\/p>\n<p>Separatist officials announced plans Friday to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people. Russia has issued about 700,000 passports to residents of the rebel-held territories. Claims that Russian citizens are being endangered might be used as justification for military action.<\/p>\n<p>Pushilin, the head of the Donetsk rebel government, alleged in a video statement that Ukraine was going to order an imminent offensive in the area.<\/p>\n<p>Metadata from two videos posted by the separatists announcing the evacuation show that the files were created two days ago, The Associated Press confirmed. U.S. authorities have alleged that the Kremlin\u2019s effort to come up with an invasion pretext could include staged, prerecorded videos.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities in Russia\u2019s Rostov region declared a state of emergency because of the influx of evacuees. Media reports on Saturday morning described chaos at some of the summer camps in assigned to accommodate the people from eastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>The reports said there were long lines of buses and hundreds of people waiting in the cold for hours on end to be housed without access to food or bathroom facilities. Some of the camps were said to have run out of space.<\/p>\n<p>Putin ordered the Russian government to offer 10,000 rubles (about $130) to each evacuee, an amount equivalent to about half of an average monthly salary in the war-ravaged Donbas region.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Johnson Announces Ukraine Cash Giveaway\u2026 After Denying Britons a Tax Cut <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/igjCOTiFWY\">https:\/\/t.co\/igjCOTiFWY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreitbartLondon\/status\/1488802536647802880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 2, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><em>Jim Heintz in Moscow, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Aamer Madhani in Munich contributed to this story<\/em><\/p>\n<h5 class=\"western\"><em><span>Follow Breitbart London on Facebook:<\/span><\/em><em>&nbsp;<\/em><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BreitbartLondon\/\"><span>Breitbart London<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MOSCOW (AP) \u2013 Separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine ordered a full military mobilization Saturday amid a spike of violence in the war-torn region and fears in the West that Russia &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1314115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1314115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1314115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1314115\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1314115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1314115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1314115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}