Ukraine-Russia Ceasefire Frays With Nursery Shelling Allegation, Other Claims

Ukraine has accused pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country of shelling a kindergarten on Thursday, a move the Moscow-backed militia said was in response to mortars and grenades falling on its occupied territory.

It's the latest escalation in Kyiv's eight-year conflict with Russian-backed rebels in Donetsk and Luhansk, where two self-proclaimed republics have been declared, and comes amid heightened tensions after Russia deployed about 100,000 troops near Ukraine.

Ukrainian authorities said shelling in the town of Stanytsia Luhanska—near the front line—struck a kindergarten that was full of children. No children were injured, but two teachers were reportedly hurt, Reuters reported. Images from the area showed a large hole in the brick wall of a school, with debris from the blast strewn across the ground.

Separatist forces in eastern Ukraine are trading charges of ceasefire violations; leaders in the rebel regions told Russia's state-owned press agency Sputnik it was the Ukrainian military that fired first, lobbing mortars and grenades onto their positions.

Use of heavy weaponry, they said, breached existing ceasefire agreements. They acknowledged returning fire but did not mention the kindergarten.

Newsweek has been unable to verify either claim.

On Twitter, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: "The shelling of a kindergarten in Stanytsia Luhanska by pro-Russian forces is a big provocation."

Western leaders have expressed concern about the developments.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the alleged shelling of separatist positions "a false flag operation designed to discredit the Ukrainians." His sentiments were echoed by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who said Russia may be creating a pretext for an attack.

British government officials on Thursday released a map of "Putin's possible axis of invasion."

"Russia retains a significant military presence that can conduct an invasion without further warning," the Ministry of Defence wrote in a tweet alongside the map.

"He still can choose to prevent conflict and preserve peace."

Also on Thursday, Russia delivered written responses to proposals by the U.S. Moscow wants a guarantee from NATO that it will not expand eastward and admit Ukraine. In its reply, the Kremlin said its security concerns had been ignored and that it would be forced to respond through "military-technical" means. However, it insisted "there is no 'Russian invasion' of Ukraine," according to Russian newspaper Kommersant.

Meanwhile, outside the White House, President Joe Biden told reporters there remained a "very high" risk of invasion within the next "several days."

"Every indication that we have is they're prepared to go into Ukraine, attack Ukraine," he said.

The U.S. and its allies have disputed Kremlin claims that Russian troops have partially withdrawn from regions around Ukraine following military exercises.

Vice President Kamala Harris is on her way to Germany for the Munich Security Conference set to begin on Friday. Meanwhile, 5,000 U.S. troops from the 82nd Airborne Division arrived in Poland on Thursday, according to The New York Times.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is attending an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting in New York and is scheduled to delivery remarks shortly after.