The front line that has separated the Ukrainian army since 2014 from separatist groups backed by Moscow has experienced a resurgence of violence since the middle of the week, the first victims of which are the civilians present in the region. While Washington continues to warn of the risk of a Russian invasion in the very short term, the bombardments in the Ukrainian region of Donbass have been accompanied by a real informational confrontation. Westerners and Ukrainians on the one hand, Russians and separatists on the other, accuse each other with unverifiable rumors and false information of preparing offensives.
Statements relayed with complacency by the Russian state press
On February 17, it was the publication of photographs showing the wall of a nursery school left gaping by an explosion that triggered a new attempt at disinformation. The images spread like wildfire on social networks favorable to separatist groups, which immediately accuse the Ukrainian army of having bombed the school.
The Ukrainian authorities deny, quickly reinforced by the confirmation that the nursery school is in the town of Stanitsa Luhanska, close to the front line but on the territory controlled by Ukraine. The explosion injured three people. “The children were having breakfast at the time of the explosionNatalia Slesareva, an employee of the school, told AFP. If it had happened fifteen minutes later, the consequences might have been catastrophic. »
→ READ. Crisis in Ukraine: following appeasement, renewed tension
The only crossing point with the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Luhansk, Stanitsa Luhanska had since 2016 been largely spared from regular bombardments along the front line: until February 17, therefore, when it was hit by at least 32 shells, according to the Ukrainian army. Strikes continued on the morning of February 18.
At the same time, separatist groups are multiplying statements, relayed with complacency by the Russian state press, accusing Ukraine of preparing military offensives or sabotage operations. On February 18, a representative of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic claimed that Ukrainian special forces had tried to blow up an oil terminal in the region.
A few hours later, the leader of the separatist group announced the evacuation of civilians to Russia, assuring that “the enemy’s armed forces are in battle order and ready for the invasion of Donbass”. An assertion firmly denied by Kiev, but which is in line with the rhetoric of Russian President Vladimir Putin: on February 15, he accused Ukraine of committing “genocide” in eastern Ukraine.
Unverifiable leaks on the American side
Washington continues for its part to alert on the danger of Russian invasion through leaks in the American media of unverifiable information. Two anonymous American intelligence officials thus assured the Washington Post on February 17 that Moscow might prepare a so-called “false flag” operation to accuse Ukraine of having committed a chemical attack and thus justify a Russian offensive.
After having, at the start of the week, briefly expressed the hope of a de-escalation, Western countries are once once more sounding the alarm over the Russian military deployment on the Ukrainian border. “We estimate that Russia has amassed between 169,000 and 190,000 troops in Ukraine and on its border, compared to 100,000 troops as of January 30,” US Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Michael Carpenter, said on February 18, speaking “of the largest military mobilization in Europe since the Second World War”. Joe Biden is due to hold a videoconference with Western leaders on the same day, while Vladimir Putin is meeting his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, in Moscow.
