According to information from Moscow and the separatists in Donetsk, there are no Russian soldiers in the conflict area of eastern Ukraine. “We want to rely on our own strength,” said the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Puschilin, on Russian state television on Tuesday.
There is a mobilization among the men. The region, recognized by Russia as a sovereign state on Monday, only wants to resort to the possibility of military aid if this is necessary. There is still shelling from the Ukrainian side, Puschilin said.
That is why the people in Russia would continue to be brought to safety. Previously, Russian President Vladimir Putin had issued a decree that troops should be deployed to the regions in order to “ensure peace” in the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics. Media close to the Kremlin reported that Russian troops were already in Donbass. Videos allegedly showing Russian armored vehicles in the Donbass have also been circulated on the Internet.
On the other hand, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said in Moscow, according to the Interfax news agency: “No one wants to move anything anywhere at the moment.” “