Moscow says it has repelled an armed border incursion
Ukraine has denied a Russian claim that five of its service personnel were killed on Monday during a firefight near the two countries shared border.
Kiev added that none of its forces have a presence in Russia’s Rostov region, dismissing Moscow’s assertion as “fake news.”
“It’s not true,” a government spokesperson said, as quoted by the Guardian, adding that a detailed statement will be released shortly.
The outlet also quotes Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, who said “Not a single one of our soldiers has crossed the border with the Russian federation and not a single one has been killed today.”
Meanwhile, an adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry also branded the claim about the border intrusion as fake, while speaking to Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency.
The Russian Army claimed that a small reconnaissance unit crossed from Ukraine into Russia’s Rostov Region around 6am local time. Moscow said that when its forces were sent to confront the intruders, two Ukrainian armored infantry vehicles crossed into Russia as well.
According to Moscow, both Ukrainian vehicles were destroyed and five service members were killed. There were no casualties among the Russian troops and border guards, Moscow said.
Russian officials earlier said that a border guard post was destroyed on Monday by a shell launched from Ukraine. No one was hurt in the reported incident. Kiev branded the allegations part of Moscow’s “information war waged to pin the blame on Ukrainian armed forces.” Ukrainian officials have repeatedly accused Moscow of trying to lure them into a conflict.
The recent flare-up between the Ukrainian Army and the two breakaway regions in the country’s east began last week, with both sides blaming each other for ceasefire violations.
https://ift.tt/fuwCGXo 21, 2022 at 06:41PM
from RT – Daily news