Putin's accusation against Kyiv, five days after deadly attack
A retrospective on Russia's president blaming Ukraine for armed confrontation in Donbas, after the worst single-attack loss for Ukrainian forces since 2019.
What did Moscow say about the war in Donbas 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 Kyiv had failed to comply with the ceasefire of July 2020. The conflict, which broke out in 2014, had by then killed more than 14,000 people.
The remarks 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 show how the ceasefire stood at the end of March 2021: soldiers were still dying at the front, while Russia's president placed the blame on Kyiv.
