As soon as the Russian army was about to withdraw, Ukraine started to fight first, and fierce artillery battles broke out on the border!!
Although Russia did not use force against Ukraine on February 16, as predicted by the United States, the Crisis in Ukraine remains dire. Just as Russia was about to withdraw its troops from the Ukrainian border, Ukraine played with fire and took the lead in provoking war.
On February 17, Russia's Interfax News Agency reported that a unit of the Southern Military District of Russia had left Crimea with heavy weapons such as armored vehicles, tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and self-propelled guns due to the end of the exercise mission and was returning to the camp by rail. Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry also officially announced on Tuesday that troops from Russia's western and southern military districts exercising near the Ukrainian border will begin returning to base by rail and road on February 15.
It is reasonable to say that Russia's withdrawal from Ukraine, whether it is because the exercise is over or because Russia wants to cool down the Crisis in Ukraine, Ukraine should seize this rare opportunity to follow Russia's move in the same direction and avoid further escalation of the situation. Who ever thought that the Russian army was just about to withdraw, and Ukraine actually took the initiative to fight.
On February 17, Russia's Interfax news agency reported that the office of the Joint Center for the Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire Regime in Luhansk said that the Ukrainian armed forces carried out five heavy shelling attacks on Luhansk on the same day, "the Ukrainian armed forces seriously violated the ceasefire agreement and launched attacks with heavy weapons." ”
On Thursday morning, Ukrainian troops fired a barrage of mortar fire at the settlement in Donbass, according to foreign media reports. Rodion Mirošnik, a spokesman for the Russian-speaking community, said: "Within half an hour, the Ukrainian armed forces carried out a massive shelling of our 8 settlements using heavy weapons such as large-caliber mortars. ”
The Ukrainian armed forces are rumored to have used 82 and 120 mm mortars, AGS and SPG grenade launchers, and heavy machine guns to fire on five settlements: Sokolniki, Zolot, Veselenko, Nizhny Lozovo and Donetsk. Mirošnik said, "Ukraine fired a total of 100 shells of different calibers at us. The Donbass pro-Russian militia said Ukraine "deliberately provoked war in Donbass by bombing civilian infrastructure and residential areas in Donbass."
Not only that, the representative of the Donetsk People's Police also disclosed that a reconnaissance company and a fire support company of the 36th Independent Marine Brigade of Ukraine, as well as an integrated mortar company, planned to land at sea to seize their areas on the coast of the Sea of Azov and to send strike teams to attack the rear of the republic.
The Luhansk militia group (LPR) said it was the result of the shelling being personally ordered by Ukrainian President Zelenskiy. Not to be outdone by the pro-Russian militia in Donbass, the pro-Russian militia in Donbass took up arms and fought back, attacking Ukraine 50 times with heavy weapons such as 122 mm and 152 mm guns, 82 and 120 mm mortars, and anti-tank grenade launchers. According to Greek media reports, at least one shell hit a kindergarten near Stanizia Luhanska and caused casualties.
On Thursday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba said Russian-backed Donbas militants had shelled a Ukrainian village and that "the Ukrainian village of Stanits yaluhanska was bombed with heavy weapons from Donbass and a large amount of civilian infrastructure was damaged." ”
In April 2014, during the Ukrainian unrest, Ukraine's Luhansk and Donetsk, near Russia, declared their independence and moved politically toward Russia, and have been fighting with Ukraine for years. According to the United Nations, the conflict killed 13,000 people.
Although Russia has begun to withdraw its troops, there are still tens of thousands of troops on the Ukrainian border, and if Russia uses this as an excuse to retaliate against Ukraine, war is inevitable.
