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Putin accuses Kyiv of provoking confrontation in Donbas
Summary
A retrospective on 31 March 2021, when Russia's president blamed Ukraine for armed escalation days after a deadly attack on Ukrainian troops.
What did Moscow say about the war in eastern Ukraine on 31 March 2021? Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of provoking armed confrontation with pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country.
Putin also said Ukraine 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
The accusation 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 stand side by side: a deadly strike on Ukrainian positions, followed by a statement from the Russian president placing responsibility for the escalation on Kyiv and pointing to the July 2020 ceasefire as a commitment Ukraine had not kept.
