Ukraine denies shelling Russia's Donetsk, says 'army not deployed there'
14 July 2014, 20:01 -- Ukraine's National Guard says it had nothing to do with the shelling of the Russian town of Donetsk in the Rostov region on Sunday, July 13. 'The Ukrainian National Guard command categorically denies reports that the National Guard was involved in the shelling of the Russian town of Donetsk on July 13. Again, the National Guard is not deployed in the cited district, or in a territory matching the shell's trajectory,' the National Guard announced. This was a response to Moscow saying that the Russian government 'knew exactly where the gunfire was coming from'.
'The National Guard has no weapon systems that could have inflicted the damage of a corresponding scope,' the statement says.
Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin earlier said that at least seven shells were fired on the Rostov region from Ukraine on Sunday. A man was killed and two people were seriously wounded when a shell hit a house in Russia's Donetsk.
The Investigative Committee launched a probe into the incident on murder counts. On the same day, the Russian Foreign Ministry invited Ukraine's Charge d'Affaires in Russia and expressed its resolute protest. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the Russian citizen's death 'will not be left without a reaction.' Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council and Foreign Ministry have denied reports that Ukrainian law enforcement units shelled Russian territory. The National Security and Defense Council said that a great deal of proven evidence has been obtained indicating that militiamen fire at Russian territory and civilians in order to lay the blame on the Ukrainian military. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it was ready to cooperate in probing the incident.
Russia doesn't rule out selective strikes on Ukraine-media reports
Moscow is considering a possibility of 'pinpoint strikes' on Ukraine to retaliate against the bombardment of suburbs of Donetsk, Rostov region, Kommersant daily said, citing a source close to the Kremlin. The source said Russia 'knew exactly where the gunfire was coming from.' He noted that would not be a massive action but pinpoint strikes on the positions from where they were firing on Russia.
A similar idea has been suggested by Federation Council Vice-Speaker Yevgeny Bushmin, a representative of the Rostov region. In his opinion, precision weapons are able to stop shooting from the Ukrainian side.
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