Ukraine denies ‘saboteurs’ crossed into Russia; rebels ask Putin for recognition

Ukraine firmly denies Russian claims that Russian forces killed five Ukrainian “saboteurs” who allegedly crossed the border to stage an attack.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba denies a string of claims issued by Russian officials throughout a tense day that has heightened fears that the Kremlin is paving the way for an invasion of Ukraine.

Russian officials had earlier also said that a Ukrainian shell had destroyed a border facility used by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

“No, Ukraine did NOT: attack Donetsk or Lugansk, send saboteurs or APCs [armored personnel carriers] over the Russian border, shell Russian territory, shell Russian border crossing, conduct acts of sabotage,” Kuleba says in an English-language tweet.

“Ukraine also does NOT plan any such actions. Russia, stop your fake-producing factory now,” he says.

Also, the rebel leaders of east Ukraine’s two self-proclaimed republics ask Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize the independence of their breakaway territories in a coordinated appeal.

“I ask you to recognize the sovereignty and independence of the Lugansk People’s Republic,” separatist Leonid Pasechnik says in a video aired on Russian state television. Denis Pushilin, the rebel head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, makes a similar appeal.