The leader of the east Ukraine breakaway region, the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic(DPR) has called for military conscription amid tensions with Ukraine’s forces at the border.
“I urge my fellow citizens who are in the reserves to come to military conscription offices. Today I signed a decree on general mobilisation,” Denis Pushilin said in a video statement.
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Most DPR residents are Russian speakers and many have already been granted Russian citizenship, however, Ukraine says the people who run the DPR are “Russian proxies”, a claim denied by Russian authorities.
“Together, we will achieve for all of us the victory we desire and need. We will protect Donbas and all Russian people,” Pushilin added.
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Meanwhile, Ukraine’s army said one soldier was killed in the eastern region even as the Kremlin informed that President Putin will be speaking to French President Macron amid increased tensions in the region.
“As a result of a shelling attack, one Ukrainian soldier received a fatal shrapnel wound,” Ukraine’s military said in a statement.
Ukrainia’s President Volodymyr Zelensky will be attending Saturday’s Munich Security Conference although President Biden had earlier questioned whether it would be wise to leave Kyiv due to increased Russian activity in the region.
Russian news agency Sputnik quoting a source said a shell allegedly exploded in Rostov region about 1 km from Russia’s border with Ukraine.
Reports claim the pro-Russian rebels have evacuated residents from Donetsk and surrounding areas with several leaving for Russia. At least 700,000 people are reportedly being evacuated by the rebels from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
There have been reports of increased shelling in the Donbas region. On Thursday, a shell had hit a kindergarten in eastern Ukrainian village with children and staff inside the premises, however, there were no casualties.
Ukraine has been battling against pro-Russia rebels in the eastern region since 2014 after Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The conflict has so far reportedly claimed around 14,000 lives.
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Oleksiy Danilov, Ukraine’s top security officer had said earlier that the situation is being “escalated by the Russian Federation through its supporters on the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.”
“This is an attempt to provoke our armed forces, our military to respond and react to them,” he said. Reports claim there have been at least 66 exchanges of fire as Ukraine’s armed forces and Moscow-backed rebels accused each other of ceasefire violations.
(With inputs from Agencies)
