President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, on Monday denied Russian media reports that the country's leadership was considering retaliation against the alleged shelling of its territory by Ukrainian forces.
Citing an anonymous source in the Kremlin, Kommersant reported on Monday that Russia was considering "launching pinpoint retaliatory strikes" against Ukraine in response to the shelling.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Peskov vehemently denounced such reports as "nonsense."
Russia's Investigative Committee reported Sunday that Ukrainian forces fired seven shells into Russian territory, killing a 45-year-old man and wounding an 82-year-old woman. Ukraine has denied responsibility for the incident and has blamed pro-Russian militants for the casualties.
The deputy chairman of Russia's Federation Council, Dmitry Bushmin, suggested that Russia use precision-guided weapons toward Ukraine in response to the incident.
"The only way to solve this problem is to fight as civilized countries do — the U.S., EU," Bushmin told Kommersant daily newspaper on Sunday. "We have to use precision-guided weapons so we could destroy those who launched this shell."
In a statement released Monday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that new Russian rocket launchers had been used against the Ukrainian army in the last three days. Poroshenko also added that there was evidence that Russian regular army officers were involved in the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine.
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Poroshenko Says Russian Officers Fighting Alongside Rebels in Ukraine
