The death of a soldier in pro-Russian rebel-held eastern Ukraine, the successful test of a Russian nuclear-capable missile, the US president's new warning about a Russian attack on Ukraine — all add to the tensions over Ukraine. Russia test-fired its most advanced missile on Saturday, amid tensions with the West. In addition to ballistic and cruise missiles, there were ballistic missiles capable of carrying atomic bombs. The Kremlin claims that all the missiles hit the target during the exercise. Instability escalated in Russian-backed rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine last Friday after Russia announced it was withdrawing some troops from the Ukrainian border. Incidents of shelling are increasing in that area. One Ukrainian soldier was killed. The country's military says the soldier died yesterday morning. The Ukrainian military said on its Facebook page that separatists had violated the ceasefire 19 times since the beginning of the day, and six times in the previous 24 hours. The Ukrainian military says separatists have used heavy weapons to attack more than 20 homes. The Minsk agreement was signed between pro-Russian rebels and the army in eastern Ukraine to end an eight-year conflict. Despite the agreement, tensions have been rising since last Thursday. The government and the rebels are blaming each other for the escalation of tensions. Russia's claim that Kiev could launch an operation in eastern Ukraine has been strongly denied by the Ukrainian military. In the midst of all this controversy, Russia yesterday test-fired its most advanced missile. Meanwhile, Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine have announced full military preparations. The head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Denis Pushkin, said in a video message yesterday that he had signed a decree on military readiness and that anyone "capable of carrying a weapon" had been called to the military headquarters. Shortly afterwards, another separatist leader, Leonid Pasechenik, signed a similar decree in the Luhansk People's Republic. Earlier in the day, separatist leaders said they feared an attack by Ukrainian forces and planned to evacuate some 700,000 people to Russia from areas under their control. As of yesterday morning, about 7,000 people had been evacuated from Donetsk, according to the local emergency ministry. As people in the area began to move to Russia, a state of emergency was declared in the Russian border area. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden said yesterday that he was convinced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had decided to invade Ukraine. In a televised message from the White House, he said, "At this moment, I'm sure he has made a decision. The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a police recruiting center. He claimed that the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, was among the places to be attacked. But there is still time to reduce tensions and return to the negotiating table," he said. Amid rising tensions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Munich, Germany, yesterday. There he met with German Chancellor Olaf Schulz, UK President Boris Johnson and US Vice President Kamala Harris. At a security conference in Munich, Kamala Harris warned that Russia would face "severe economic sanctions" from the West if it attacked Ukraine, and that this would be done quickly. In addition, British Prime Minister Johnson said Russia would suffer both economic and political losses.
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