[뉴욕=이데일리 김정남 특파원] US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln said on the 18th (local time) that the bombardment in eastern Ukraine was part of Russia’s efforts to create false provocations to justify the invasion.
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Speaking at the Munich Security Conference that opened in Munich on the same day, Blincoln said, “[Russia has done in the last 48 hours]created a prepared false provocation, responded to it, and ultimately launched a new attack on Ukraine. It’s part of the scenario,” he said.
Russia’s Sputnik news agency reported that Ukrainian government forces carried out mortar and grenade attacks in the eastern Ukrainian province of Lugansk, controlled by pro-Russian rebels. But Ukrainian government forces have denied reports of a preemptive strike, Archyde.com reported. Lugansk Oblast is located along the Russian border with Donetsk Oblast. The two regions are collectively called ‘Donbass’. It is an area where Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels continue to fight.
Western camps, including the United States, are expressing concerns that Russia is trying to create an excuse for an invasion of Ukraine through this series of sieges.
“We’re seeing more troops going to the border,” Blincoln said in a response to Russia’s allegations of withdrawing troops from the border with Ukraine.