MOSCOW, June 20 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev’s military operation in the east of Ukraine verges on ethnic cleansing, Russia’s envoy to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Andrei Kelin said Friday.
“These are not target, or ‘high-precision’ special operations. This is a continuing attempt to wipe entire cities off the earth and render them uninhabitable. They are cleansing Donbas of its Russian-speaking population, rather than of fictitious Russian saboteurs. It is almost like ethnic cleansing,” Kelin said at an OSCE Permanent Council meeting.
The Russian diplomat added people in eastern Ukraine were getting used to war, as the Ukrainian troops tightened their grip on the area and ratcheted up the onslaught.
“What was inconceivable only a few weeks ago is now becoming a tragic fact of life. This mental shift drastically undermines the chances of a political dialog and a peaceful solution to the crisis. I can hardly imagine that Poroshenko’s envoys in the southeast will ever be greeted with flowers,” Kelin explained.
Violence in southeastern Ukraine has been on the rise since the beginning of a punitive operation launched by the Kiev authorities in mid-April that has claimed hundreds of lives. In the past few days, the Ukrainian army has increased the intensity of mortar attacks, pounding residential districts and places with high population densities.
Moscow, which describes the ongoing military actions as a punitive operation, has repeatedly called for an immediate end to the bloodshed. On Thursday, Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Ivanov described hostilities in eastern Ukraine as a “civil war steadfastly heading toward genocide."
