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Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said allegations the Ukrainian government intends to launch an offensive operation in Donetsk and Luhansk are divorced from reality.
The statement added: “We categorically reject the attempts of Russia to aggravate the already tense security situation.
“We remain firmly committed to politico-diplomatic settlement and, together with our partners, maximise efforts to reduce the tension and keep the situation in line with diplomatic dialogue.”
The Ministry accused Russia of disseminating “massive” disinformation, increasing the shelling of Ukrainian positions and civilian infrastructure, using weapons banned by the Minsk Agreements and escalating the security situation.
It concluded: “We call on the international community, foreign states and international organisations, to condemn immediately the provocations conducted by the Russian Federation and its occupation administrations in Donbas undermining the process of politico-diplomatic settlement.
“The absence of proper reaction or a neutral stance will only serve further escalation.”
It comes amid reports by Russian media that a car was blown up in the parking lot near the Government House building in Donetsk.
The West has warned that Moscow may be carrying out a ‘false-flag operation’ – creating a fake pretext to invade its neighbour Ukraine.
Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine said on Friday they planned to evacuate around 700,000 people to Russia from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).
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