The Ukrainian army was deemed to have violated the Minsk Treaty by launching
an attack on the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's
Republic (LPR) in Donbass on Thursday morning (17/2/2022).
Local authorities warned Ukraine could launch a full-scale attack at any
time from then on.
"On Saturday morning (19/2/2022), Ukrainian troops opened fire on the city
of Dokuchaevsk in the self-proclaimed LPR, firing a total of 40 grenades,"
the Joint Control and Coordination Center said in a statement.
In the midst of the attacks, the DPR-LPR authorities started the evacuation
of civilians to Russia on Friday (18/2/2022), fearing military aggression by
the Ukrainian government.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Friday that it was very concerned about
the deteriorating situation in Donbass.
According to the Kremlin, civilians there are suffering and risk and believe
that the shooting must stop.
Meanwhile, NATO is reportedly increasing the combat readiness level of
thousands of troops amid ongoing tensions with Russia.
According to German media, the NATO Response Force (NRF) should be ready to
move into the conflict zone within seven days instead of the 30 days before.
Meanwhile, Russia reaffirmed its peace-loving attitude.
"Russia does not seek war and is interested in a peaceful resolution of the
conflict in the eastern Ukrainian region of the Donbass," Leonid Slutsky,
chairman of the State Duma's Committee on International Affairs, said on
Saturday.
"Russia does not seek war, Russia is interested in a peaceful resolution of
the conflict in Ukraine more than any other country on Earth.
Russia has always called for the implementation of the Minsk agreement,
which has no alternative," Slutsky wrote on his Telegram account.
at the same time, he stressed Russia would not allow Kiev to exterminate the
Russian-speaking people of the Donbass. He added that many of those living
in Donbass were Russian citizens.
