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Kiev forces in east Ukraine on full combat alert — Lugansk militia

We have received new information about the buildup of the Ukrainian troops in the zone of the so-called United Forces Operation, the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) People’s Militia Spokesman Ivan Filiponenko said

LUGANSK, February 20. /TASS/. Units of the Ukrainian armed forces deployed in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbass have been placed on full combat alert, while the Kiev government continues its military buildup in the area, the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) People’s Militia Spokesman Ivan Filiponenko said.

"In accordance with the confirmed information, the commander of the United Forces Operation [Alexander] Pavlyuk has put the personnel <…> on full combat alert," he said in the LPR People’s Militia official Telegram channel.

"We have received new information about the buildup of the Ukrainian troops in the zone of the so-called United Forces Operation," the spokesman said.

The situation along the contact line in eastern Ukraine took a turn for the worse in the morning of February 17. The DPR and LPR reported some of the most intensive shelling by Kiev forces in recent months. The shelling damaged some civilian facilities.

On Friday, the leaders of the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics (LPR and DPR), Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin, announced the evacuation of the republics’ inhabitants to Russia, citing the increasing threat of hostilities. All-out mobilization was announced in the republics on Saturday.

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