Blinken urges Russia to affirm unequivocally that it will not attack Ukraine in the latest legal blow to Trump

*Paromita Das 

During the height of Russia-Ukraine tensions, there were reports of shelling by Russian separatists in the eastern Ukrainian hamlet of Stanytsia-Luganska. The shell landed on the wall of a kindergarten, which housed 20 children and 18 staff members.

The kindergarten incident in Ukraine was a ‘false flag,’ according to Prime Minister Johnson.

The shell landed on the wall of a kindergarten, which housed 20 children and 18 staff members. Even though the children were inside, no casualties were reported. According to reports, the children narrowly escaped with no injuries.

The shell apparently struck the exercise room, which was occupied by workers and youngsters. As the shell struck the two-story structure, everyone inside ran to the other side and huddled against the ground-level wall.

“A kindergarten was attacked in what we know was a false flag operation aimed to denigrate Ukrainians, to create a pretext, a spurious provocation for Russian involvement,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told British media.

“The shelling of a kindergarten by pro-Russian forces is a major provocation,” President Volodymyr Zelensky remarked.

Ukraine’s soldiers have been at odds with Russia-backed separatists in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Putin’s forces annexed Crimea in 2014, resulting in eight years of hostilities between Ukraine and Russia.

On Thursday, Ukrainian authorities accused the insurgents of 34 ceasefire violations while employing heavy weaponry, injuring at least two servicemen and five civilians with artillery fire.

The incident occurs while President Biden has stated that Russia may conduct a “false flag” operation in order to start an invasion of Ukraine. Russia removed two US diplomats amid rising tensions.

The US has been claiming for months that Russia has gathered over 100,000 troops near the border, despite Russian officials, including President Putin, denying predictions of an impending Russian invasion.

According to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Russia is planning a big invasion in the “coming days.” The US diplomat, citing information, requested that “Russia will not invade Ukraine today, without qualification, equivocation, or misdirection. Declare it unequivocally. Declare it unequivocally to the rest of the world.”