The Russian President chaired a previously announced exercise involving nuclear missiles from the Kremlin on Saturday.
(Foto: imago images/SNA)
Moscow The first calls for war came from Moscow. Duma deputy Alexey Zhuravlyov called on Russians to volunteer to fight in Donbass. “Today we must defend our world, the Russian world and the Bandera rags [Bandera ist ein ukrainischer Nationalist, der während der Nazizeit für zahlreiche Kriegsverbrechen verantwortlich war] show that we Russians always stand together,” he said.
Meanwhile, under the personal command of President Vladimir Putin, military maneuvers “Grom” (Thunder) by the Strategic Nuclear Forces began in Russia on Saturday. During the exercise, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles will be launched, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
In addition to the nuclear forces, the Northern and Black Sea fleets, parts of the southern military district and the Russian Air Force are also involved in the maneuvers. Putin follows the missile launches from his situation center in the Kremlin. A statement by the president following the maneuver is complete is not planned, Peskow said.
Even so, the military exercise is eloquent enough. It is a clear demonstration of power by Moscow, which seems all the harder because it coincides with the massive aggravation of the situation in Donbass. There, the separatist republics in Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk (LPR) have now also declared mobilization following the evacuation of the civilian population on Friday and accused the Ukrainian leadership of massive violations of the ceasefire.
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The OSCE observers registered a significant increase in shootings and explosions along the front line. Both sides blame themselves for the escalation. Kiev thus rejects all allegations of a planned offensive and speaks of provocations.
Battles in eastern Ukraine: The situation is getting worse
In fact, there are a number of inconsistencies in the actions of the separatists: the videos calling for evacuation were shot on Wednesday. The head of the DVR Denis Puschilin, however, speaks explicitly in the video of “today, on February 18”. This makes it clear that the escalation was apparently planned.
In addition, more than 10,000 people have now been taken by bus to the neighboring Russian region of Rostov, where they have been quartered in emergency shelters. But this is only a fraction of the population. At the same time, videos emerged from Donetsk, where people continue to shop in an open market near the buses waiting to depart – there is no sign of fear of war there.
>>Read more regarding the Ukraine crisis here: Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on EU sanctions once morest Russia: “What are we waiting for?”
Meanwhile, the spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, Maria Zakharova, rhetorically attacked the West. According to them, a genocide is taking place in the Donbass that the West is keeping silent regarding. “Have you noticed how suddenly the entire Western society has forgotten regarding human rights?” she wrote on social networks.
In the Donbass, everything that the “civilized democracies” had previously taken as an opportunity to intervene in the internal affairs of other states is being shot at: civilians, vital infrastructure, the elderly, children and women.
Despite this, they are now silent on Ukraine’s human rights violations. “But our country is used to standing up to evil. We’re on the bright side of history and that’s backed up by facts time following time,” she concluded her post.
More: Biden: Russia wants to attack Ukraine and also the capital Kiev
