Provocation

Russian territory shelled from Ukraine 9 times in past months

Dozens of Ukrainian shells have exploded in Russia, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov told Russia 24 television on Thursday

ITAR TASS,

24 July, 2014

MOSCOW, July 24. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia reports nine gunfire attacks on its territory from Ukraine's side in June and July this year.

Dozens of Ukrainian shells have exploded in Russia, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov told Russia 24 television on Thursday.

Aimed fire was opened on a border guard post. Russian citizen Andrei Shulyatyev was killed. He left three underage daughters, Antonov said.

“If the territory of the United States were shelled from a cross-border region, and if an American citizen were killed, what would the USA do? The answer is clear,” he noted. “We are simply showing responsibility and restraint.”

According to Antonov, in this regard “it is totally clear, who provokes whom on the border”. “You had better pay attention to the permanent shelling of Donetsk and Luhansk with projectiles and to the murders of civilians,” the deputy defense minister said addressing to the western military officials.

The most recent shelling of Russian territory from the Ukrainian side of the border was reported July 20. Customs officers of the Gukovo automotive checkpoint in the Rostov region were evacuated. No Russians were killed or wounded in the shooting attack.

Meanwhile, reports come that employees of the nearest border checkpoints of Russia are often evacuated due to the attacks. In addition, in some cases there was need to evacuate residents of the border villages and settlements. Thus, July 18, 90 people were evacuated from two villages of the Kuybyshevsky district of the Rostov region.

 

Reaction of the Foreign Ministry

Earlier, the Russian diplomatic service has made a statement condemning the repeated shooting attacks, as well as violation of the state border by Ukrainian military.

The statement was issued in connection with another shelling of the Russian territory on July 12.

“Russia demands Ukraine stop shelling of the Russian territory and violating the Russian border,” the ministry said in its statement.

“If such provocations continue, Russia reserves the right to take measures under its legislation aimed at protecting the territory and ensuring security of Russian citizens,” it added.