Officials of a breakaway region in eastern Ukraine claim that Kyiv has deployed military personnel into their self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) on sabotage missions.
According to the Russian Interfax news agency, DPR security forces are searching for two groups of Ukrainian armed forces near the Black Sea port city of Novoazovsk. The troops are accused of attempting to break through near the Russian border.
“At the present time, the Interior Ministry and State Security Ministry are conducting a special operation in coordination with the DPR people’s militia,” Interfax said, citing a militia press release.
The operation comes amid reports of shelling along the border of the disputed Donbass region in eastern Ukraine. U.S. and NATO officials have claimed Russia has decided to invade with its force of more than 150,000 troops arrayed along the border.
The U.S. has said Russia could stage a pretext to launch an invasion, saying such a move would be “right out of their playbook.”
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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