Ukraine crisis: Putin says no ‘peace plan’ to end conflict. 5 big points

Will Russia invade Ukraine? This is the question dominating global discourse. Since the past several months, the world remains on the toes with global powers leaving no stone unturned to defuse the simmering tensions between the two countries.

Monday was no different, with Russia claiming to have killed five saboteurs who were trying to breach the Ukrainian borders.

Here are the top developments unfolding along the volatile borders of Ukraine and Russia.

*Russian president Vladimir Putin has said that Russia will decide whether to recognise the two breakaway regions, the so called Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic, news agency Reuters reported. Remember, the Russia-backed separatist forces have been engaged in a ferocious battle with the Ukrainian government forces in these two regions since 2014, in which more than 15,000 people have been killed. Even though Putin has denied any intentions of invading Ukraine, news agency AFP quoted the Russian president saying there was no peace plan to end the Ukrainian conflict.

*Multiple blasts were heard at the centre of Donetsk, the Ukrainian city held by Russia-backed separatists. However, the nature of blasts was unclear, news agency Reuters reported.

*Amid the Ukrainian crisis, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian will meet in Paris on Friday, provided Putin’s forces don’t invade Ukraine. The meeting is scheduled to lay a possible groundwork towards a mooted meet between US president Joe Biden and Putin.

*Earlier in the day, the Russian military had said that it had killed five Ukrainian ‘saboteurs’ trying to breach the borders near the village of Mityakinskaya in the Rostov region. Ukraine immediately rejected the claims, calling it fake news amid Western accusations that Russia would use any pretext to invade the former Soviet satellite state.

*Russia has been repeatedly accusing Ukraine of relentless shelling on its territory. On Monday, the Russian military claimed that a shell from the Ukrainian territory had destroyed its border guard post in the Rostov region. The incident occurred at a distance of 150 metres between the Russia-Ukraine border.