The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, believes that the explosion a kilometer from the line of contact in Donbass could have been a provocation filmed by journalists. He announced this on air. YouTube-channel “Soloviev Live”.
There was an explosion, and it was heard in some areas of Donetsk. We do not rule out that this may be some kind of provocation that was filmed by journalists
Pushilin noted that the explosion occurred near the village of Opytnoye, about 1-1.5 kilometers from the line of contact in the territory controlled by Kiev. According to him, because of the fog, the militias were unable to find out what exactly exploded.
Information about the explosion
Reports of an explosion in Donetsk began to arrive on Saturday, February 12th. Telegram channel “Military Observer” reported that the blast wave was felt throughout the city.
Related materials:
Patrick Lancaster, a freelance American journalist based in Donetsk, was the first to spread the word about the massive explosion.
I just heard a strong explosion from the center of Donetsk. Not too close, but clearly audible in the center
Lancaster noted that the explosion occurred northwest of the city center. Information about the incident was also confirmed by sources of the WarGonzo Telegram channel. At the same time, it was indicated that the incident could have occurred on Ukrainian territory, beyond the line of contact in the Donbass.
The reaction of officials
Eduard Basurin, deputy head of the People’s Militia Department of the DPR, commented on reports of a powerful explosion in Donetsk. “You heard? But I didn’t hear anything, ”he said, refuting the fact of the explosion.
Also, Denis Pushilin, immediately after the information received, said that so far everything is under control in Donetsk, refuting the data about a powerful explosion.
Related materials:
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) Valery Zaluzhny, in turn, noted that the Ukrainian military “observe the ceasefire, did not plan or carry out any shelling, including in the direction of Donetsk.”
Suspicions of Kiev’s provocations in the Donbass
Former OSCE Secretary General, director of the Geneva Center for Security Policy Thomas Greminger said that possible incidents in the Donbass could be provoked by Ukraine. In his opinion, despite the relatively calm situation in the region, “there is always a risk of provocations from all sides, including from spoilers who do not act in line with official policy.”
At the moment, everything is relatively calm in the Donbass. There are almost no ceasefire violations, their number is now lower than in recent months. And if there are troop movements on the western side of the line of contact, this does not mean anything special, because this happens regularly, when new troops replace the old ones. So, I think at the moment we have no signs that something is brewing in the Donbass
Greminger noted that one should take into account the possibility that such violators could provoke incidents under the flag of the opponent.
The first deputy representative of Russia to the UN also spoke about the possibility of a provocation by Ukraine in the Donbass. He did not rule out a similar option in order to accuse Moscow of “invasion”.
I would not reject such a scenario, it can be traced in the baseless hysteria that is whipped up around the presence of our troops on our own territory, although I hope that our Western colleagues will have the prudence not to go for such a scheme
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in turn, stressed that the threat of provocations by Kiev in the Donbass is currently very high, it is even higher than before. “Indeed, the nature of this concentration indicates preparation for offensive actions, and, indeed, there is such a threat now,” he said.
Pushilin also spoke about the possible provocations of Ukraine in the Donbass. The head of the DPR did not rule out Kiev’s provocations at industrial facilities in Donbass. According to him, there may be “certain steps”, since there are “sabotage groups” near the line of contact.
#DNR #considered #provocation #explosion #line #contact #Donbass