Putin denounces attack near border that Kyiv calls a set-up

BLOOMBERG

Vladimir Putin called an attack in a village near the border with Ukraine “a terrorist act,” hours after scrapping plans to travel to southern Russia on Thursday over the episode.
“They crossed into the border zone and opened fire on civilians” who were in a vehicle, Putin said in comments at the start of a televised video conference with teachers.
Ukraine dismissed the allegations its forces crossed the border into the Bryansk Region as a set-up aimed at building public support for Russia’s invasion.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the president was receiving regular reports on the events from top security officials. The Federal Security Service said its forces, together with military, were repelling what it said was an attack by “armed Ukrainian nationalists” in a border area of the Bryansk Region.
Russian state news agencies offered conflicting accounts of events in border area near Ukraine, with some reporting casualties among civilians blamed on unidentified attackers, who numbered in dozens.
China, Belarus Issue Vague Call for Bringing Peace to Ukraine
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said they wanted to see peace in Ukraine, though they avoided providing details on how they’d bring the year-old war to an end.
The Foreign Ministry in Beijing said in a joint statement they “expressed deep concern over prolongation of regional armed conflict and looked forward to restoring peace in Ukraine as soon as possible to avoid escalation of the crisis.”