Andrei Marochko, the spokesman of the militia of the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Luhansk (LPR), on Thursday accused the Ukrainian Armed Forces of staging false-flag shelling of Donbas areas under Kiev's control to put the blame on LPR military personnel.
LUHANSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th August, 2018) Andrei Marochko, the spokesman of the militia of the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Luhansk (LPR), on Thursday accused the Ukrainian Armed Forces of staging false-flag shelling of Donbas areas under Kiev's control to put the blame on LPR military personnel.
"Staged shelling is constantly conducted to frame our military personnel. Today at 05:50 a.m. [02:50 GMT] we registered a shelling attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces with the use of 82-millimeter mortars on the territory under its control in the area of the Rozsadky settlement. This shelling is likely to be presented as firing by our forces," Marochko said.
Such shelling could also be a result of infighting within the Ukrainian army amid the "disarmament of uncontrollable nationalists," Marochko suggested.
"Notably, on August 29, a US flag was unveiled at the spot from where the shells were fired," Marochko noted.
In 2014, the Ukrainian army started an offensive against Donbas residents who refused to recognize the newly-formed government. The conflict between LPR and the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) on one side and the Kiev forces on the other has claimed over 10,000 lives according to UN figures and is still ongoing.
Efforts to stabilize the situation in eastern Ukraine have been made by the Normandy Four group comprising Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany.
In particular, the Normandy Four brokered the Minsk peace accords, which were signed by the sides to the conflict in a bid to end hostilities in the area. However, the warring parties have failed to observe the ceasefire, so the unrest in Donbas continues.
