State Department calls evacuations in Eastern Ukraine 'false flag operations,' warns of distractions
Officials blame Russia for heightened tensions in Eastern Ukraine
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The State Department on Friday condemned evacuation calls by the Russia-backed separatist groups in Eastern Ukraine as "false flag operations" that security officials have been warning against.
"Announcements like these are further attempts to obscure through lies and disinformation that Russia is the aggressor in this conflict," a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "This type of false flag operation is exactly what Secretary Blinken highlighted in his remarks to the UN Security Council."
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken addresses the United Nations Security Council, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Leonid Pasechnik, leader of the separatist group in the breakaway Luhansk People's Republic, ordered people to evacuate the Eastern Ukraine region and head for Russia following "the escalation of tension."
In a similar statement, Denis Pushilin, leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, which neighbors Luhansk, took to social media to announce that Russia has agreed to house evacuees, according to a report by Reuters.
The announcements came after artillery shelling was exchanged this week in the Donbas region, home to the two breakaway republics, first hitting a town in the Luhansk region Thursday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A car was then bombed Friday in Donetsk, according to an Associated Press journalist.
Ukrainian officials and Russian-backed separatists have blamed each other for the incidents.
A residential building that, according to Ukraine's local officials, was damaged by shelling in the town of Vrubivka, in the Luhansk region, Ukraine, Feb. 17, 2022. (Press Service of the Popasna Town Civil-Military Administration/Handout via REUTERS)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The U.S. has not identified who was responsible for the attacks but continues to warn that Russia "plans to manufacture a pretext" in an attempt to justify an invasion of Ukraine.
"It is … cynical and cruel to use human beings as pawns to distract the world from the fact that Russia is building up its forces in preparation for an attack," a State Department spokesman said. "Russia is the sole instigator of these tensions and is threatening the people of Ukraine."
Michael Carpenter, U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said in a statement following a Friday meeting that Russia had amassed "between 169,000-190,000 personnel in and near Ukraine as compared with about 100,000 on January 30."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}These figures include forces stationed along Ukraine’s border in Russia and Belarus, along with forces in Donbas and occupied Crimea.
A Russian tank T-72B3 fires as troops take part in drills at the Kadamovskiy firing range in the Rostov region in southern Russia Jan. 12, 2022. (AP Photo, File)
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"This is the most significant military mobilization in Europe since the Second World War," Carpenter said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Moscow earlier this week said it would draw down forces near Ukraine, but U.S. and NATO officials condemned the remarks and said Moscow has done the opposite.
U.S. and NATO officials remain concerned Russia could invade Ukraine within the coming days.
Amy Kellogg contributed to this report.