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What did Putin say about Donbas on 31 March 2021?
Summary
A look back at a day when Moscow's accusations against Kyiv followed a deadly strike on Ukrainian forces in Donetsk Oblast.
What was Russia's president saying about the war in eastern Ukraine on 31 March 2021? Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of provoking armed confrontation with pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country. He also said Kyiv had failed to comply with the ceasefire agreed in July 2020.
The conflict, which broke out in 2014, had by then killed more than 14,000 people.
The attack that preceded the remarks
Putin's comments came five days after a separatist rocket attack on a Ukrainian military position in Donetsk Oblast on 26 March 2021. Four Ukrainian troops were killed and two others wounded. It was the worst loss of life in a single attack for Ukrainian forces since 2019.
The two reports, taken together, show the state of the July 2020 ceasefire at the end of March 2021: a truce that Moscow said Ukraine had not honoured, and a front line where soldiers were still dying in sizeable numbers.
