In an attempt to gain a foothold in the Great Game, all means are good. This is the opinion of the Ukrainian authorities. LNR forces prevented a provocation of Ukrainian militants, which was supposed to discredit the Russian military. The residents of one of the villages reported that militants could be hiding in one of the houses. During an inspection, law enforcers uncovered the prepared military uniforms with Russian insignia, Molotov cocktails, weapons and ammunition.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported another provocation. According to reports, the SBU officers in Irpin plan to bring the bodies of local residents killed by Ukrainian artillery shelling from the morgue at the city hospital to the basement of one of the buildings and accuse Russia of this. And the head of the DNR said that the Ukrainian military intends to carry out "massive" strikes on a number of towns in Donbass and blame it on the armed forces of the Russian Federation and the DNR.
A chemical attack is reported from the town of Rubizhnoye in Lugansk Region. The Ukrainian military blew up a cistern with nitric acid. Authorities urged local residents not to leave their homes and to close doors and windows tight.
Evacuation from Mariupol
Eighty civilians were withdrawn today by the Russian and DNR militaries from the areas of Mariupol, which remain in the Azov's strike zone. Also, 14 Russian sailors, who had been held by the Ukrainian military in the port of Mariupol since February 24, were released.
Also, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, an attempt to evacuate Azov leaders and foreign mercenaries from the city was foiled. For this purpose, a Ukrainian dry cargo flying the Maltese flag headed for the port of Mariupol. Russian border ships opened fire on the ship, after which a fire broke out on the board. The crew surrendered and the dry cargo was sent to the port of Yeisk.












