Pro-Russia rebels in Ukraine accused government forces of shelling a village on Friday while Russian media reported more infantry and tank units were returning to their bases in contrast to Western fears of an imminent Russian invasion.
For a second consecutive day, pro-Russian separatists who have been at war with Ukraine for years said they had come under mortar and artillery fire from Ukrainian forces, according to the Interfax news agency. read more
Kyiv and the rebels blamed each other for escalating tension after artillery and mortar attacks on Thursday, prompting fears that Russia, which has massed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine's borders, could get involved.
The Kremlin said on Thursday it was "deeply concerned" with the flare-up in Ukraine and was watching the situation closely. The United States said Russia was looking for a pretext for war.
Kyiv and the pro-Russian separatists have been facing off for eight years, and a ceasefire between them is routinely violated, but the intensity of fighting increased notably this week.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday said Russia is preparing a pretext to justify a possible attack on Ukraine, whose ambition to one day join the NATO military alliance has angered Moscow.
In Europe's biggest security crisis in decades, Russia has massed troops, tanks and heavy weapons on Ukraine's borders and demanded assurances that Kyiv never join NATO, something the Ukrainian government has refused to do.
Even so, Russia says it has no intention to invade Ukraine and accuses the West of hysteria over its military build-up, saying some of its troops have returned to bases.
Reuters
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