The leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, says the separatists are "not going to attack first", but "will do everything possible to protect ourselves", at a press conference in Donetsk, the de facto capital of the pro-Russia separatist region in eastern Ukraine. The United States and its NATO allies accuse Russia of seeking to upend European stability by threatening an invasion of Ukraine, while Moscow denies plans to invade the country, where in addition to annexing Crimea, it has been backing separatist forces in the east since 2014. The conflict has already claimed more than 13,000 lives.

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