New Delhi: The Russian military on Monday said that it had killed five "saboteurs" who crossed from Ukrainian territory. This is the latest claim fuelling tensions along Moscow's border with Ukraine, news agency AFP reported.
Ukraine has, however, denied the claims made by Russia.
"As a result of clashes, five people who violated the Russian border from a group of saboteurs were killed," the military said in a statement, according to the AFP report.
The military added in the statement that the incident occurred near the village of Mityakinskaya in the Rostov region at 06:00 am (0300 GMT).
Russia Says Shell Fired From Kyiv Destroyed Border Facility, Ukraine Denies
Earlier in the day, Russia said that Ukrainian forces had shelled a border post on Monday, but Ukraine has dismissed the claim. Also, Ukraine denounced the claim as “fake news” designed to inflame tensions, according to another AFP report.
Earlier, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) had alleged that a projectile fired from Ukraine had destroyed a border facility used by its guards, the AFP report said.
According to the report, a video released by the FSB showed a small, apparently one-room shed with its roof and walls caved in and a Russian flag leaning against strewn debris.
The report stated that the claim increased concerns that Moscow is seeking a pretext to justify its military build-up on the border of Ukraine. US intelligence says the military build-up on the border of Ukraine is an invasion force.
According to the report, Pavlo Kovalchuk, Ukraine's spokesman for its joint military operation against Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, was unimpressed by the Russian allegation.
"They conduct different provocations and produce fake news every day, even a couple of times per day," the report quoted Kovalchuk as telling reporters in Kramatorsk.
"We couldn't stop them producing this fake news, but we always emphasise that we do not shoot at civilian infrastructure," Kovalchuk further said.
Referring to the Moscow-backed rebels holding parts of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, Kovalchuk added: "We don't use artillery to shoot back at occupation forces”.
The report said that Washington has repeatedly warned that Moscow is trying to justify a planned invasion by planting fake stories of Ukrainian aggression.
A general mobilisation and the evacuation of civilians has been ordered by Russian-backed leaders in the rebel enclaves in Donetsk and Lugansk, while shelling has intensified, the report said.
According to the report, the FSB statement was released just as Russia's President Vladimir Putin was to chair an unscheduled meeting of his national security council.
The statement said: "On February 21, at 9:50 am (0650 GMT), an unidentified projectile fired from Ukraine completely destroyed a border facility used by the FSB border guard service in the Rostov region, around 150 meters (490 feet) from the Russian-Ukrainian border”.
The statement also said that no one had been injured in the incident and that Russian military engineers had arrived at the scene.
Since 2014, Ukraine has been fighting separatists. In 2014, Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula after street protests in Kyiv overthrew a pro-Moscow president.
Over 14,000 people have already been killed in the fighting.
In recent weeks, Kyiv's Western allies have warned of an escalation in the conflict with Russia massing more than 150,000 troops around Ukraine, the report said.
The FSB said that the shelling took place in the southern Rostov region.
Last week, the southern Rostov region declared a state of emergency over an anticipated influx of civilians from the rebel-controlled territories, the report said.
Kremlin Says It Is Premature To Talk About Specific Plans To Organise Any Kind Of Summits
On Monday, the Kremlin said that it was too early to discuss organising a summit between the Russian and American presidents. This comes after Paris announced the possibility of a meeting to calm tensions over Ukraine, AFP reported.
Early Monday, the French presidency announced that an agreement had been reached in principle for US President Joe Biden to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, so long as Moscow holds back from sending troops into Ukraine, according to the AFP report.
According to the report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that it is premature to talk about any specific plans for organising any kind of summits.
Peskov said there is an understanding that dialogue should be continued at the level of foreign ministers. He added that there are "no concrete plans in place" for a presidential summit.
"If necessary, of course, the Russian and American presidents can decide to hold a telephone call or connect via other methods," Peskov added, according to the report.
He further said that a meeting is possible if the heads of state consider it appropriate.
Peskov said that Putin was set to chair an emergency meeting of the Kremlin's Security Council later Monday,
Ahead of scheduled talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was expected to speak by telephone with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian later on Monday, the report said.
For weeks tensions between Moscow and Western capitals have been growing over a feared Russian attack on Ukraine and a large build-up of Moscow's troops around Ukrainian borders.