Ukrainian village bombed… Russian separatists and Kyiv blame each other for cease-fire violations

Hours after international reports that Russia is building up its forces on the border with Ukraine, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Thursday that the Ukrainian village of Stanitsia Luhanska was hit by heavy gunfire from the east of the country in Donbas.

Speaking on his official Twitter account, the Ukrainian foreign minister said: The village of Stanitsia Luhanska was hit with heavy weapons from occupied Donbas, he said, adding that the infrastructure in the village was damaged. We call on all partners to swiftly condemn this serious violation of the Minsk agreements by Russia, amid an already tense security situation.

The shelling of the Ukrainian village comes four days after US warnings last Sunday that Russia might launch a false flag operation inside Ukraine to justify an invasion.

False flag means clandestine operations used for camouflage, showing that a group planned and performed such operations other than the true group.

Reuters quoted a Western security source as saying: Russian mercenaries, at the direction of the Russian state, are likely to be involved in any hostilities in Ukraine, including most likely as a pretext for a possible invasion, the statement said, explaining that the mercenaries are deployed from private Russian military companies with close ties to the Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, and the Russian Military Intelligence Agency.

Who is behind the bombing?

The Donbas and Ukraine rebels have accused each other of being responsible for the incident and violating ceasefire agreements signed by the two sides years ago, according to CBS.
The U.S. website called the reports of shelling and gunfire a worrying sign of the potential for escalating tensions, despite Russia’s announcement two days ago to withdraw part of its troops from Ukraine’s borders.

The Russian-backed separatists, who control two separatist enclaves inside Donbas — Luhansk and Donetsk — on Thursday accused Ukrainian troops of opening fire on several villages inside their territory but were still searching for victims.
Officials from Luhansk and Donetsk said Ukrainian security forces continue to flagrantly violate the ceasefire regime with heavy weapons.

The Ukrainian military denied any attack on rebel territory, saying it was the separatists who shelled government-held villages, including a mortar shell that hit a kindergarten but caused no casualties.