Russia: "If Our Citizens Are Killed in Ukraine's Donbas, We Will Retaliate"

Satellite image capturing Russian military helicopters and barracks deployed in Donuzlav Bay, southern Crimea, Ukraine, on the 13th (local time) [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Amid growing concerns that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is imminent, the Russian ambassador to the European Union (EU) stated that if Russian citizens are killed in conflict areas such as Donbas in eastern Ukraine, Moscow will respond militarily.

On the 15th (local time), according to major foreign media and Russian RIA news agency, Vladimir Chizhov, the Russian ambassador to the EU, said, "We will not invade Ukraine unless provoked."

However, he added, "If Ukrainians launch attacks against Russia, or if Russian citizens are killed anywhere, including Donbas, it should not be surprising if we retaliate."

Donbas refers to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine, which are effectively occupied by pro-Russian separatist rebels. Since Russia's forced annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, intermittent clashes between Ukrainian government forces and rebels have continued in this area, resulting in continuous casualties.

Amid concerns that Russia might stage a false flag operation to create a pretext for invading Ukraine by orchestrating harm to its own citizens, Russia issued this warning.

Currently, foreign media reports indicate an increase in activities by mercenaries linked to Russian intelligence agencies in the Donbas region, possibly for false flag operations.

The pro-Russian rebels in the Donbas region have claimed that the Ukrainian government forces are preparing attacks against them, the news agency reported.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.