Ukraine-Russia Conflict: Republic reports from warzone; IEDs used to target Journalists

As the Russia-Ukraine conflict intensifies, amid the recent escalation on a line of contact with Russia-backed rebels, a sporadic shelling was heard in the border region of the two countries. Being the only Indian Network to get all the updates from the breakaway regions, Republic TV's latest exclusive report from Donetsk Centre shows aftermath of the IEDs used to target offices. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Monday, recognised the independence of Ukraine's separatist regions - the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) - further escalating tensions between the two nations. 

As per the visuals from the ground, several window panes were seen shattered at all the floors of a media complex. According to an eye witness, the incident took place at 1'o clock, and it did not seem to be a shelling attack. The eyewitness also told Republic Media Network that he thinks that the Ukranian forces specifically targetted journalists by planting a bomb right outside a window of the media complex. The Administration building of the Republican TV Centre at Donetsk also withnessed an IED blast, where all the windows were busted out. This was the second day in a row when IEDs were used at Donetsk. A day earlier, two vehicles were blown up, killing three people. 

Meanwhile, Russia on Wednesday started evacuating embassy personnel from all of its diplomatic facilities in Ukraine, Russia’s state-owned TASS reported. Moscow launched evacuation efforts at its embassy in Kyiv, consulates in Kharkiv, Odesa, and Lviv, and diplomatic facilities in other locations, the embassy in Kyiv confirmed in a statement to TASS. The move was prompted after Ukraine urged its citizens residing in Moscow to ‘immediately’ exit the country citing the looming threat of an armed Russian invasion.

Joe Biden & Putin Signal Bigger Confrontation 

The East-West faceoff over Ukraine escalated dramatically on Tuesday, with Russian lawmakers authorising President Vladimir Putin to use military force outside his country. US President Joe Biden and European leaders responded by slapping sanctions on Russian oligarchs and banks. Both leaders signalled that an even bigger confrontation could lie ahead. Putin has yet to unleash the force of the 1,50,000 troops massed on three sides of Ukraine, while Biden held back on even tougher sanctions that could cause economic turmoil for Russia but said they would go ahead if there is further aggression. The measures, accompanied by the repositioning of additional US troops to the Baltic nations on NATO's eastern flank bordering Russia, came as Russian forces rolled into rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine after Putin said he was recognising the independence of the separatist regions in defiance of US and European demands.

(With Agency Inputs)

Image: Republic World