The Ukrainian army and Russian-backed separatists accused each other of being behind a flare-up in the long-running conflict in the country's east Thursday, further stoking tensions after the United States and its allies disputed Moscow's claims of a pullback from around its neighbor's borders.
Kyiv's forces said artillery shells fired by the Moscow-backed rebels hit a kindergarten and injured three people, while the separatists accused Ukraine's army of firing on the territory they control.
As tensions rose again on the frontlines of a conflict that has been ongoing since 2014, the West warned anew that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could be imminent. Washington and NATO accused Moscow of misleading the world with "false" claims it was pulling back some troops, saying they had in fact seen an increase in the military buildup that has fueled the monthslong crisis.
The conflict in eastern Ukraine has been closely watched over fears it could become a flashpoint and source of potential escalation in the broader standoff, which has seen Russia deploy more than 150,000 troops to converge around Ukraine on three sides while issuing demands to the U.S. and NATO.
Sporadic firing in the area is not unusual, but comes amid western warnings that Russia could use an escalation in the fighting, or stage a “false flag” operation, as justification for a fresh military incursion.
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