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Separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine ordered a full-scale military mobilization on Saturday, amid rising violence in the war-torn region and fears in the west that Russia could use the situation in that area as a pretext for invading Ukraine.
Denis Pushilin, head of the pro-Russian separatist government in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, issued a statement announcing a full mobilization of troops and urging reservists to report to the military registration offices.
A similar announcement was soon followed by Leonid Pasechnik, a separatist leader in the Luhansk region. Denis Pushilin referred to the “immediate threat of aggression” of Ukrainian forces, accusations that Ukrainian officials vehemently denied. Ukrainian separatists and forces have been fighting for almost eight years. But violence along the dividing line between the two sides has intensified in recent days, including the detonation of a car bomb in the eastern city of Donetsk.
With about 150,000 Russian troops now stationed around Ukraine’s borders, the long-running separatist conflict could serve as a spark for a wider offensive. On Friday, insurgents began evacuating civilians from the conflict zone, in a move that appeared to be part of their and Moscow’s efforts to portray Ukraine as an aggressor.
On Friday, US President Joe Biden said he was now “convinced” that Russian President Vladimir Putin had decided to invade Ukraine. Although he had said for weeks that the US was not sure if Vladimir Putin had made the final decision, President Biden said his judgment had changed, citing US intelligence data.
President Biden reiterated his threat to impose economic and diplomatic sanctions on Russia if it invades Ukraine, urging the Russian president to reconsider his actions. He said the United States and its Western allies were more united than ever to ensure that Russia would pay a high price if it invaded Ukraine./VOA
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